Third Time's the Charm
by charley07
Summary: Spiederman and Nic are finally together and everything's perfect. That is, until Monica returns with a big secret that's going to tear them apart, AGAIN, at the seams.
1. Background Info

**Alright, as always, I recommend reading The Comeback and It's Not Over before you ready this, as it's the sequel to It's Not Over, which was the sequel to The Comeback. Anyways, here's a little background for what's to come:**

Set at the beginning of the next April (roughly three months later)

Nic and Spiederman are still together, living in her apartment

Jude and Tommy, naturally, are still married and still kinda meddling in everyone's lives

Sadie and Kwest are still married

Monica Robbins hasn't been heard from since the non-wedding, as it will be known. Unfortunately, she doesn't stay away forever...**  
**


	2. Chapter 1

**So, short beginning, but I just kinda wanted to prepare everyone for what's to come and set the story up. Hope everyone likes it.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"Hey, I'm gonna take a shower," Vincent Spiederman, or just Spiederman, told his fiancé of four months, Nic Quincy, as they sat on the couch in their living room on a Friday night, watching re-runs of _Nip/Tuck_. "If you're bored, you can join," he added, winking suggestively.

"I'd love to, but some of us have jobs that require work everyday, not a new song every couple of weeks, so I'll pass," she answered, opening her laptop that had been sitting on the coffee table. "One of our reporters did an interview with Barack Obama about his new book and it's horrible. It's like she wrote it poorly to give me something to do."

Spiederman sighed and stood up. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where I'll be."

Before she could get started on editing the interview, which, as a co-editor of _The Chronicle_, a prestigious literary magazine, was part of her job, the phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, putting the TV on 'mute.'

"Hi, Nic?" a quiet voice came through. "It's Monica."

Monica Robbins. Nic hadn't spoken to her since December, when Spiederman had left her at the altar to get back together with Nic, whom he'd dated two years before and was still in love with. Hearing from her now worried Nic and whatever she wanted couldn't be good.

"Okay," Nic said shakily. "Go ahead."

"Right," Monica sighed. "Umm, I know this is quite last minute, but I was hoping we could all get together and talk," she explained. "You, me, and uhh, Vince." Vince. Nic, along with Spiederman, hated that name for him, but Monica insisted he was too old for a nickname. "I'd say it's not very important, but it is."

"Alright," Nic agreed warily. "Why don't you meet us tomorrow at Wyndemere at 7:30 for dinner?" she suggested. "On us."

"That's fine," Monica replied. "Thank you."

By the time Spiederman was out of the shower, Nic still hadn't gotten any work done and she was sitting on the couch, staring off into space.

"You alright?" he asked, sitting down next to her. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Worse," she muttered.

"Your brother naked?" he joked.

"Eww!" she squealed, slapping his arm. "No, uhh, just as you were getting into the shower, the phone rang. Guess who it was?"

"Ed McMahon?" he teased. "We've won a million dollars?"

Nic stared at him pointedly. "First of all, stop joking around, this is serious; and second, we don't really _need_ a million dollars cause we're okay in the financial department. No, it was actually, umm, Monica."

"What?" he asked, his head snapping to attention. "What did she want? I let her have my loft. What more can she want?"

"She didn't say," Nic answered. "All she'd say was that it's important and that we have to meet her for dinner tomorrow night at Wyndemere at 7:30."

He didn't respond. Instead, he walked to the kitchen and pulled a can of Red Bull from the refrigerator. "This can't be good," he finally got out. "She's probably just a decoy so her parents can pop out and kill me while we're waiting for appetizers. They just want you to suffer by watching."

"You're so morbid," she laughed, following him in. She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and laid her head on his back. "Spied, don't worry about it. Whatever it is, we'll get through it together."

"I hope so," he mumbled, finishing off the energy drink.


	3. Chapter 2

**Of all the chapters I've written, in all my stories, this was the hardest cause of what happens. But, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. **

The following morning, the pair woke up and Spiederman realized he needed to go into work to finish recording a song for his band's new album. As the frontman for The Spiederman Mind Explosion, it was up to him to make sure his bass player, Wally Robbins, and drummer, Kyle Bateman, made into the studio on time. Unfortunately, they usually were; he wasn't. When they weren't working on their second solo album, they were still the popular back-up band for Jude Harrison-Quincy, Canada's favorite rock goddess and Nic's sister-in-law. Her husband, Nic's brother, Tommy, was their producer, along with his longtime best friend, Kwest Taylor, who was also their engineer. To them, going to G-Major for the day was like going to their second home.

"Good morning," Tommy said when they walked into the lobby around 11:45. He looked down at his watch. "Spied, you're only fifteen minutes late today," he added jokingly.

"Don't," Nic warned her brother under her breath. "We're having a Monica issue tonight."

Tommy, who had been looking through Jude's latest journal, stopped and eyed his sister. "Excuse me?"

"What's up?" Jude asked, bouncing out of studio B with Lex, her and Tommy's two-year-old on her hip. "Hi, Nic, Spied. Care to ride along as I take the princess here over to Maria's for the day? Sophie's at a friend's house for a weekend birthday sleepover party."

"Aww, that's cute," Spiederman smirked. "No, I gotta go find the guys to work on 'We Won't Go Back to Prison' with Kwest." He kissed Nic's cheek and hurried off.

"So, would you please continue with this Monica thing?" Tommy asked as the three of them settled in a corner. "He _gave_ her his loft so what more does she want?"

Nic shrugged. "No idea. She said it's important and that's it."

"Wait, what's going on?" Jude asked in confusion, putting Lex down to let her run wildly through the lobby. "Since when is Monica calling you guys?"

"Since last night apparently," Nic answered. "And now Spied's all freaking out and I'm trying to calm him down but I'm pretty freaked out by this, too. Like, seriously, when she told me who she was, I could literally feel my heart rate plummet."

Tommy and Jude stood in front of her, unsure of what to say. They were so used to seeing Nic as this strong and independent girl, not intimidated by anything or anyone, but after everything that had happened between her, Spiederman, and Monica already, it was understandable.

"Yo, T, I need you in here today, man!" Kwest called from studio A. "I got three guys on a caffeine high and I slept a whole three hours last night cause Isabelle has a horrible cold. You wanna help while Jude takes Lex to Maria's?"

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "Lex, come on!" he called out to his daughter. "You're leaving and I gotta go work."

"Alright," she pouted, marching over to them. She jumped into his arms and kissed his cheek. "Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, baby," he smiled, handing her to Jude. "Find me when you get back and we'll work on finishing 'No Secrets,' and then, one more song and your fourth album is finished."

"Yay!" Jude squealed, scaring Lex. "Okay, Nic, you wanna ride along?"

"Nah, I think I'll go help sedate the boys," Nic replied. "Lex, be good today, alright?"

Lex shrugged. "I'll try."

Inside studio B, the boys of SME were playing their instruments to the tune of a funeral dirge as Kwest glared at them warily over the soundboard and Tommy had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing.

"Guys," Nic said, leaning against the doorframe between the recording booth and sound room. "Can't you grow up and realize that the guys in here are, like, old and have kids and

responsibility so you need to cooperate and be nice?"

Kyle scoffed. "Well, never in a million years did I expect to get a 'grow up' lecture from Nic Quincy. My mom, maybe, but not you."

She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm a little on edge today, so I wouldn't go there, doll. Why don't you just work on the song and then you can drive anyone who comes into hospitality later crazy."

"Fine," Wally agreed sadly. "I don't like her when she's like this," he whined to Spiederman.

"Usually, I'd say I don't either, but she has reason to be today," he reported. "Got a nice little call from your cousin last night."

"It must've been Mitchell cause there's no way Monica would contact you guys ever again," Kyle cut in. "Right?"

"Wrong," Spiederman corrected. "In fact, we're meeting her for dinner later tonight to find out what she really wants cause she wouldn't say anything on the phone."

"That's scary," Wally admitted. "I mean, I don't speak to her, so I don't know what it is, but it's probably not that she's moving to Russia or anything happy."

After recording 'We Won't Go Back to Prison,' the guys took an extended break for lunch while Nic and Jude, who'd just gotten back, lounged around the lobby.

"Do you honestly think it's gonna be _that_ bad?" Jude wondered.

"I wish I knew," Nic whispered. "I mean, how can it not be? She never got mad, Jude; she never threatened me or attacked me or did anything. It was like she completely understood or something."

"She did," Jude nodded. "I think she understood that you guys were gonna be together the moment they walked into Sophie's performance and the entire mood changed. The chemistry between you two was still there and she, like the rest of us, felt it obviously."

"Yeah," Nic muttered. "God, I just wish I knew what she wanted; not even so much for me, but for him. I mean, Spied's a good guy, so leaving her there, even though it was what he wanted and he knew marrying her was wrong, was hard for him cause he did really care about her."

"It'll be fine," Jude assured her, though a little unsure herself. "You guys are solid these days and France isn't calling or anything, so you should be golden," she smiled.

"I can only hope," Nic sighed.

Later that night, Nic and Spiederman got ready in silence, both too nervous and too afraid to talk. He put on a pair of black Armani pants with a white button-up shirt by Marc Jacobs while she wore one of her signature black Chanel cocktail dresses with black kitten heels.

"You ready?" he asked her at ten after seven. "You made the reservations for 7:30, right?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, putting on her dress coat. "Let's go."

The ride to Wyndemere was quiet, the only noise coming from the Oasis CD playing in the stereo of his Jeep. Nic was wringing her hands and Spiederman was tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the music.

"Yeah, hi, reservation for Spiederman, party of three," Nic told the host once inside the restaurant. "I'm not sure if the other person is here yet, but I don't see her anywhere."

The host looked down at his list and nodded. "Right this way. There is no one here yet under that name, but I'll be sure to lead them to you as soon as they arrive."

"Nervous?" Spiederman asked as he pulled Nic's chair out for her, taking the seat next to her.

"Yeah," she answered. "It's kinda hard not to be right now."

"I know," he said, rubbing her back soothingly. "And I know you've been trying to hold it together for me and I appreciate that, but you don't have to. I know this is hard for you cause you haven't talked to her since I left her and that you're afraid, but don't be. I'm here, Nic, and I'm not going anywhere." He paused. "So long as you're not."

She smiled. "Very funny."

Suddenly, Monica appeared at the table, her platinum blonde hair back in a sleek ponytail and she wore a big red sweater and gray pants. "Hi," she said uneasily, taking a seat. "Thanks for coming."

"What's this all about, Monica?" Spiederman demanded. "I told you to keep the loft and let me go."

The young woman nodded and fiddled with her silverware. "Look, I don't want to be here anymore than the two of you do, especially since you were both smiling when I walked up, which makes this that much harder, but it must be done."

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"A couple of weeks ago, I started waking up feeling really sick, throwing up and just really worn out," she began explained, causing Nic to grip Spiederman's hand under the table. "My parents were in Montreal at the time, visiting old friends, so I told my aunt, Julia. She took me to see a doctor and the results were shocking."

"You're pregnant," Nic said monotonously. "Right? I've seen you around and noticed that you looked a little bigger, but I just figured you were depressed about everything that had happened and were filling the void with food. Guess I was wrong."

"Way," Monica breathed. "I'm about four months along now and I'm due around September 23."

Spiederman didn't know what to say. While he joked with Nic all the time about wanting kids, he didn't really; not when he was only 21, anyways. And definitely not with the woman he'd left during their wedding. "How do we know it's mine? How can I be sure you didn't sleep with someone else?"

"Spied, if she's four months along, it would've happened in December, and you guys weren't over until December 28, so it has to be," Nic whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Look, I just want you to know that I don't expect anything from you," Monica interrupted softly. "We're no longer together and I would never want to be the cause of breaking you two up. While I would like for you to know the child, I won't force it onto you. But, if you ever do want to know him or her, it has to be when they're born; I won't have you coming into their life at a late age, announcing you're the father." She paused. "And step-mother, I suppose."

"This is ridiculous," Spiederman said coldly. "You were on that stupid pill."

"The only way to be sure to keep from pregnancy is abstinence," Monica reminded him, sounding like a bad after-school special.

Nic, who hadn't been listening, scooted her seat back and stood up. "Umm, if you two would excuse me, I'm going to use the restroom." Before they could respond, she spun on her heels and raced away, just as the fighting between the soon-to-be-parents escalated.

"Nic?" a calm and familiar voice said into the bathroom twenty minutes later. "Where are you at?"

"The last stall," Nic muttered from her spot on the cold floor.

The door opened and Jude stepped in, wearing sweatpants and a Clash t-shirt. "Spied

called me as soon as you fled the table. Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Nic snapped. "How would you feel if you just found out your fiancé was having a baby with his ex-fiancé? I feel super-duper right now, Judy."

"Don't be mad at him," Jude advised wisely. "When that baby was, uhh, conceived, they

were still together and he's just finding out about this now, too."

Nic nodded and put her face in her hands. "I know, but this is bad. We always say that nothing can pull us apart now, but how can this not?"

"It's not gonna be easy, but it can be done," Jude stated. "Just, don't push him away or pull away yourself, okay? No running."

Nic stood up, dusted herself off, and went to look in the mirror. "Well, I look lovely."

"Eh, you're with famous people, it's cool," Jude smirked. "Besides, even with streaky make-up, you still look a hundred times better than I do."

"Duh," Nic smirked lightly, opening the door and leading Jude back to her table. Monica had left and Spiederman was paying the bill. "Hi," she mumbled.

"Hey," he said, his face brightening at the sight of her. "You wanna go?"

"Yeah," she nodded, taking his hand as he walked outside. "Jude, thanks for coming."

Jude shrugged. "Anytime. Call me sometime tomorrow," she added to Nic before heading to her Mustang.

Like the ride there, the drive back to their apartment was incredibly uncomfortable and quiet. Once inside, Nic changed in the bathroom and immediately climbed into bed, where Spiederman already was. He wrapped his arm around her waist and they fell asleep, not saying a word.


	4. Chapter 3

**Now it just wouldn't be a dramatic story if Monica didn't come back to stir things up, now would it? And last night's episode was amazing and I'm already over the Jude/Jamie kiss and it hasn't even happened yet. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"I can't believe this," Kwest shook his head as he, his wife, and Jude's sister, Sadie, Jude, and Tommy sat around Jude and Tommy's dining room table at breakfast the next morning. "Monica's pregnant with Spiederman's baby? How long until Mary Hart and _Entertainment Tonight_ come a-knocking?"

"No idea," Jude responded, refilling her coffee cup, "but I don't know what they're going to do."

"I do," Tommy spoke up. He'd been relatively quiet the entire time, worrying about his baby sister. "Nic's gonna make him go back to Monica."

"Right, and Eden's gonna come to town and buy me lunch," Jude snorted. "Why in God's name would you say that?"

He sighed. "Trust me, she will. Nic is far too good a person to keep that baby from having it's parents together, I promise. She'll insist it's the right thing and then she'll send him back to the loft."

"That's ridiculous," Sadie said, although in the back of her mind, she was wondering the same thing.

Sunday was hard for Nic and Spiederman. On most Sundays since the engagement, they would stop by Jude and Tommy's for a while, hang out around their apartment, maybe get lunch or see a movie, and just spend the entire day away from work together. But, on this particular day, Nic woke up, went running, and by the time she got home, Spiederman was already gone.

_Nic, went out to do some thinking. Don't blame yourself or worry or do anything spastic_ _I have my cell if you need me. Love, Spied._

Nic sighed and sat down at the bar overlooking their kitchen. Monica was pregnant. With Spiederman's baby. She was his fiancé. Looking around, she noticed a picture on their chrome refrigerator that she had forgotten about, or maybe never noticed anymore because it had become a staple. It was of the two of them at the G-Major Valentine's Day auction, where the guys had all been auctioned off for charity. While rules had been that the girls couldn't pick their own boyfriends or husbands, and Nic had spent over $4,000 on Kyle, the picture had been taken before everything had happened. She was wearing a strapless red chiffon dress, with her hair pulled half back and in big, wavy curls. For once, and without looking stupid, he was in black dress pants, a light pink button-up, and a silver tie. It was a perfect picture and it had been up on

the freezer door for two months. Now, looking at it, Nic feared that the happy couple in the picture was fading fast.

"Hi," Tommy said quietly, letting himself in moments later. "You busy?"

"Not really," she answered, swiveling around in her bar stool to face him. "What's up?"

"I came to ask you the same question," he replied, sitting down next to her. "You doing okay after last night?"

Nic smirked. "You know, that's like, the worst question to ask after something bad happens, cause the answer is always 'no,' and yet, everyone always asks, like it's protocol or something. And, naturally, no, I am not 'doing alright.'"

Tommy smiled at his sister sadly. It had taken them years to get as close as they were and now, seeing her breaking down, was breaking his heart. "Nic, I'm so sorry. I mean, to be honest, I don't really even know what to say right now. This is kind of a weird situation. What are you gonna do?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't spoken more than two words to each other since we left Wyndemere last night, he's out now, and I left before he woke up. It's like, we had to beat so much to get where we are now, but for what? I mean, I'm sure you already guessed that I'd make him be with her for the baby, huh?"

"I did," he confirmed on a chuckle. "Jude, Sadie, and Kwest swear I'm a lunatic, but I'm not, am I?"

"Don't know yet," she mumbled. "I want to say you are, but he and I will have to decide, I suppose. At this point, Monica feels so bad, I think she'll go along with whatever decision we make, but what it is, I'm not sure."

Suddenly, the front door opened and Spiederman walked in, carrying bags of groceries from the nearest grocery store, with a magazine tucked under his arm. "Well, it's somehow out. There must have been a reporter there last night."

Nic started to breathe rapidly, taking the latest issue of _Us Weekly _from him. "_Trouble Ahead for Rock Royalty? Spiederman to be a Daddy? Details on page 12," _she read. "Great." There was a picture on the front cover of their table the night before, with Monica looking embarrassed, Spiederman was furious, and Nic looked ready to cry. "Going outside after this should be easy," she added dryly.

"I'm gonna go," Tommy muttered, backing up to the door. "Uhh, call me if you guys need anything."

Once Tommy was gone, Nic and Spiederman put away the things he'd bought at the store and then sat together at the kitchen table, still unsure of what to say to each other.

"We have to do this sooner or later," he said. "And at this point, I prefer sooner."

"I know," she whispered. "This sucks, you know. No matter what we decide, someone'sgonna suffer, whether it's the two of us or Monica and the baby."

He stared at her and reached across the table to take her hands. "Nic, we'll get through this, even if it us who suffer."

"No!" she cried, pulling her hands back. "We won't suffer together, that's just it, Spied!"

"Why?" he asked. "How would we not do it together?"

Nic was quiet as tears slowly made their way down her face. "Because the option I'm most considering right now is for me to leave and for you go be with her for the sake of the baby."

"Don't say that!" he snapped. "I cannot do this without you."

"And she can't without you," Nic interrupted. "And it's not fair, nor right, to let her go at this alone. You know George and Elise Robbins; I'm pretty sure they're probably not out buying bassinets and pacifiers right now."

Spiederman was silent. He was furious; not at Nic, or even at Monica, but at the situation itself. While he knew he wasn't ready to be a father, with Nic by his side, he felt more confident. He knew if she left, he would fail. But, he also knew that if she stayed and they left Monica alone, Monica would fail and as the mother, she couldn't fail.

"So, now what?" he finally asked, leaning back in his chair in defeat.

"You know what," she answered, sounding so sad it literally hurt his heart. "At least you already know how to get to the loft, huh?"

"If that's the only perk, I don't want it," he mumbled. "I want you."

Nic nodded, stood up, and walked around the table, sitting down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, possibly for one of the last times. "It's the right thing, Spied. As hard as it is to admit, it just is."

"Yeah," he breathed, wrapping an arm around her tightly, holding on for dear life. "So, that's it?"

"You should probably call Monica," she told him. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower and then maybe go see Sophie."

He watched her retreat into their bedroom, closing the door easily behind her.

Later that night, Jude and Tommy were sitting around their living room, watching _The Real Desperate Housewives of Orange County_, one of Jude's guilty pleasures **(A/N: it's actually one of mine, lol)**, when Nic stumbled into the penthouse, carrying her pillow.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jude asked worriedly, turning off the TV. "Are you okay?"

"Just... don't," Nic warned, holding up a hand. "I just, I need to sleep down here tonight cause staying there is like letting someone sleep in a luxury hotel for one night and then shipping them off to a seedy motel."

Before she could make it to the steps, Tommy stopped her. "Nic, what's going on?"

"I'm going back to Montana!" she exclaimed, throwing her pillow down in anger. "Are you happy? Is that sufficient enough information, Tommy? Jesus, can I just go sleep?"

Tommy wanted to continue, but Jude shook her head behind Nic, so he stepped aside and let Nic pass to go up to the entertainment room to sleep on the couch up there.

"She did it," Jude said numbly. "She's sending him back to Monica while she deals with this alone."

"And you guys thought I was wrong," he mused. "This is gonna be ugly; and I mean, really bad ugly."


	5. Chapter 4

**I like this chapter, mostly because Jude isn't the pacifist she always is; she kinda opens her mouth and goes off. And I know everyone hates that Spied's going back to Monica, but don't worry, I know what I'm doing.**

Spiederman woke up the next morning and immediately realized he was alone in their bed. Nic had stayed at Jude and Tommy's the night before, saying staying with him would'vebeen too hard and she couldn't do it. He sat up in the bed and looked around, his gaze settling on a picture of them on his dresser near the corner. It had been taken at Jude's 21st birthday party the month before, when she and Tommy had flown all their friends out to Las Vegas for a weekend at the Palms Hotel and Casino. They were standing inside Rain, the hotel's super swanky night club, kissing in front of the sign, with the fake rain falling in the background.

"Hey," she said softly, appearing at the door. "You just wake up?"

"Yep," he answered, motioning for her to join him. "So, are you really gonna go back to Montana or did I dream that?"

Nic nodded slowly. "I love you, Spied, and I'll say that until I die, but I can't sit back and watch you guys raise a baby together. It was one thing to almost watch you marry her, but actually have a family? Sorry, I can't do that."

"I get it," he assured her as she laid her head on his chest. "Do you know when you're gonna leave?"

"Well, I'm thinking the sooner you can move into the loft, the better, so probably by

Thursday," she explained. "I know that's early, but if I hold off, leaving will just get that much harder."

He sighed. "How did Sophie take the news?"

"Why do you think I came home so early?" she laughed lightly. "She won't even look at me, let alone speak to me. And, her hatred of Monica is back and stronger than ever, that's for sure."

"Awesome," he said dryly. "I wish _I_ could hate Monica."

"Me, too," she agreed. "And sadly, none of this is her fault. I blame the universe."

Spiederman laughed. "It does always seem to be working against us."

"What are we gonna do with the apartment?" she wondered aloud. "Sell it?"

"Actually, can I keep it around for a while?" he asked. "It's gonna take some getting used to, going back to the loft, so I may need a home base, ya know?"

Nic nodded against him. "Sure."

"Eventually, I'll probably sell it, but not yet," he explained.

While Spiederman went into G-Major alone that day, Nic spend the day packing up some of her stuff and buying a train ticket back to Montana, because it was easier than layovers in four different airports. She knew she didn't have time to pack everything she owned, so for now, she just packed the essentials and decided she'd come back for the rest later.

"Hey, your brother and Jude wanna take us out to eat tomorrow," Spiederman said later that night when he got home from the studio. "Well, Darius is paying, cause they invited everyone, but it's supposed to be your going-away farewell or something."

Nic, who'd been finishing up the Barack Obama interview, shut her computer and pursed her lips. "So, it's a party now that I'm leaving?"

"Nic, you know that's not why they're doing this," he told her, sitting next to her on the couch. "This is about giving you the going-away you deserve. I mean, we know it's gonna be really hard for me, but what about your brother? It took you guys like, 20 years to get here and now you're going away again, and for who knows how long this time? Tommy is devastated about this."

"I'll talk with him, privately, before I go," she said quietly. "And I'll visit; I just, I can't stay here for this."

Spiederman nodded. "I know, babe."

Nic woke up the next morning, in their bed, with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She knew that leaving him was heartbreaking, but it helped that they both knew they weren't going to fight, or ignore each other, or pretend it had never happened. She smiled, knowing their last couple of days together would be okay. It was everyone else she was worried about.

"Good morning," he yawned, sitting up next to her. "Sleep good?"

"Sure," she answered, rubbing her tired eyes. "I think I'm gonna go with you today, clean out my stuff at work tomorrow, and call Joe then, too. I'll tell him I'm going back to Helena."

He held up a hand. "Ugh, let's not talk about 'Helena' or anything related to you leaving, dig?"

"Okay," she laughed. "So, do you think Darius will care if I hang out today?" She paused and smirked. "Yeah, right."

"Exactly," he added, throwing off their down-comforter. "Alright, I'm showering."

She smelled the air around him and gagged mockingly. "Hmm, good thing."

"Funny," he said dryly, rubbing his body all over her. "As long as I smell, you smell."

Nic looked at him and smiled. "I'm okay with that."

"Me, too," he agreed, leaning over to kiss her softly as he jumped up. He got to the door of their bathroom before turning back to her. "Well, aren't you coming?"

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, following him in.

G-Major was a completely different place that day. Darius kept his office shut, Portia was bossing around her interns like a female Liam, Liam himself was ignoring the fact that Jamie hadn't picked up his dry-cleaning, and Tommy was completely out of it, staring off into space.

"It's like out of those Old West movies," Nic whispered when she and Spiederman walked inside. "This is the part when like, a tumbleweed rolls by and that weird music starts to play."

As if on cue, from studio C, Patsy's latest rampaging song could be heard.

"Tommy, why's everyone so quiet?" Spiederman asked as Tommy passed them from his office. "It's like someone died."

Tommy looked at Nic before looking around. "We're all gonna miss her, I guess."

"Now, see, if it were just you and Portia, and maybe Darius, I'd believe that," Nic said. "But Liam? Come on, Tommy, get real."

"Nic, you may not recognize it, but everyone here loves you," Tommy pointed out. "I mean, how often does Darius let Jessica come around with Wally? Almost never. Sadie only can cause she worked here and she and Kwest are married, but he lets you hang out cause he adores you. We're all still a little intimidated by him, but not you. You knock him down when his head is in the clouds and he appreciates that." He sighed once more before walking into studio A to meet Jude.

"Gee, I'm really feeling dinner tonight," Nic muttered dryly, flopping down on the lobby couch. "Well, you should go and record or something while I bug Jamie and Portia."

Things at the studio remained tense all day and by the time Spiederman and Nic were ready to go home, it couldn't have been sooner.

"Don't forget, Calamity at 8!" Tommy called out after them as they climbed into Spiederman's Jeep.

"Yeah, I'm pumped about tonight," Nic muttered dryly when they got to the apartment. "Dinner with a bunch of whiny, depressed bores."

"Nic," he said tiredly, turning on the TV, "cut 'em some slack; they're losing one of their main girls."

She sighed deeply and looked at the clock. "It's 5:30 now, and Calamity is right down the street, so I'm gonna go take a nap until 7:00; wake me up then."

"Okey dokey," he agreed, settling on the couch to watch college basketball on ESPN.

"I cannot believe her!" Jude seethed as she and Tommy rode in the Viper towards Calamity. "I told her the other night that running wouldn't solve anything and that she needed to just stand up and deal with it. But, what does she do? She's already got her bags packed for Montana."

"Jude, let's not do this tonight," Tommy pleaded. "You can ream her all you want tomorrow, but tonight, let's just let bygones be bygones and enjoy one of the last dinner's we'll probably ever have with my sister, okay?"

"Yeah," she agreed, unbuckling her seatbelt as he parked near the front. "I'll just miss her, I guess."

Inside, Wally, Jessica, Sadie, and Kwest were already waiting, looking over the menu and sitting quietly. After Tommy and Jude, Kyle arrived with Mason, Jamie, and Patsy. Portia and Darius had bailed out, saying their cousins were in town and they were entertaining at Portia's townhouse, but Darius had authorized Jamie to use his G-Major credit card to pay.

"Look who's last to arrive," Kyle joked as Nic and Spiederman filled the two empty seats between him and Patsy. "Where were you two?" he teased suggestively.

"At home," Nic answered honestly, sitting down. "How is everyone?" she asked politely, hoping the uneasiness of the day had been checked at the door.

"Good," Tommy smiled from across the table. "Did you, uhh, talk to Allen and Lydia?"

"Yeah," she nodded, browsing the appetizers. "I'm gonna stay with them for a while, until I find something I really like."

Before anyone could say anything, a waitress came and took their drink orders and put in for some appetizers while they still decided what they wanted to eat as a main course.

"I'm sad," Nic whispered to Spiederman as everyone spoke in quiet conversations around the table. "It's like they all hate me."

"Don't flatter yourself," Jude interrupted them from her place next to Tommy. "We don't hate you; well, I don't. I promised Tommy I'd let it go tonight, but I can't. How can you just up and leave again, Nic? It's like, 'the going gets rough and Nic gets going,' you know? I once joked after Kwest and Sadie's wedding that if singing was my thing, running away was Tommy's, but that was obviously before I met you. And don't even give me that 'I'm a Quincy, that's what we do' line anymore cause that's not an excuse; it's just something for you to hide behind."

Nic sat frozen in her seat. She didn't know how to respond. Her best friend was completely calling her out, in front of their friends and family, and she looked totally stupid.

"Dude," Spiederman warned, stepping up for Nic. "Shut up. You're using anger to cover your sadness and that's weak. Everyone thinks Nic's this strong girl, which she is, but how would you feel if Tommy had produced a kid with that Carly girl he dated when you _ran away_ to New York, huh? Do you honestly believe you could sit back and watch the love of your life raise a baby with another woman?"

"If he was the love of my life, he'd pick me, not her," Jude shot back coolly.

"Spied would choose me, but I can't let him do that," Nic explained desperately. "I could never be the reason a child didn't get both parents equally."

"Hello, it's the 21st-century here, lots of parents are divorced," Jude told her.

Nic sighed. "Just because your dad cheated on your mom and their marriage was a wreck doesn't mean all marriages should be."

"Nic!" Tommy cried. "What are you doing? Both of you?"

"Stay out of this, Tommy!" Jude yelled, causing people at the tables around them to stare. "If your sister wants to bring up our pasts, I'm game. Gee, Nic, does anyone know why your first book _really_ never came out?" She smirked at Spiederman. "It seems that our favorite princess had a slight drinking problem in Paris and once night, after too much tequila, erased the entire thing. Or, should we bring up the fact that you were never actually engaged to Tra Malcolm, huh? That you used him to make Spied here jealous?"

Patsy, who was seated on Nic's right, rubbed her neck. "I feel like I'm at a tennis match with all this back and forth crap."

"I think both of you need to calm down," Tommy advised. "This is going to places it doesn't need to be going."

"Shut up, Tommy!" Nic and Jude yelled simultaneously.

"Dude, let 'em go," Kwest whispered in his friends ear. "Maybe they just need to get this all out."

Nic knew they were expecting her to shoot something venomous back at her sister-in-law, but she didn't want to. She wasn't a hurtful person, especially to people she loved. "I'm done," she muttered. "You're obviously mad at me and I obviously can't change that, so I'm not gonna try. I'll just let you ride it out."

"Fine," Jude huffed, sitting back in her seat. "Whatever."

The rest of dinner was pretty much a buzzkill after that. Things were tense, conversations were minimal, and Jude ignored Nic the rest of the night.

"That was _not_ fun," Nic said on the way home, as she and Spiederman drove back to the apartment. "God, she was so upset."

"Hey, she'll get over it," Spiederman assured her softly, pulling into the complex's parking garage. "And if she doesn't, she's not worth it."

"We both know that's not true," Nic smirked. "Jude's my best friend, other than Kyle, and I need her to be okay with me when I leave."

"She will be," he said, locking the doors as they made their way into the elevator. "Jude's just one of those passionate people who needs to vent before she forgives, you know? I mean, when Tommy came back and lied about Sophie, she ran to New York for a month. Granted, this isn't quite the same, but it's similar."

Nic sighed as the doors opened and led them to the hallway, just as Jude and Tommy were unlocking the door to their penthouse.

"Awkward," Nic whispered, hiding behind Spiederman. "Hey," she called out from behind him.

"Hi," Tommy said back politely, as Jude stormed into their apartment. "Give her time," he told his sister. "She's losing one best friend to his pregnant ex-fiancé and her other best friend to another country; it's rough on her."

"I know," Nic sighed. "And I guess I'll just give her some space."

Tommy nodded. "That's a good idea. Good night, guys." And with that, he walked inside and closed the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 5

**Love this chapter. Good Nicerman (thank you McDreamylvr) moment. This could be the last update for the weekend because my Spring Break is over and I have massive amounts of hmwk to finish, including a page and a half paper about_1984_, so we'll see. Then again, I'm suffering from a bad case of senioritis, so maybe I won't even do it. And I don't know if everyone is reading golfa chickie's "Waiting For My Happy Ending," but you should be. It's amazing. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Wednesday was a slow day. Spiederman went to G-Major alone while Nic stayed back at the apartment and called Joe Pierce, her original boss at _The Chronicle_ in Montana, dreading the conversation.

"Go, this is Joe," he barked into his phone.

Nic smirked, imagining him at his desk, papers everywhere and his shoes off, baring his black, holey socks to the entire office. "Miss me?"

"Nic Quincy," he said, his voice softening. "How are you, ma'am? Back in Toronto, huh?"

"Actually, that's why I called," she admitted nervously, packing up her fourth Louis Vuitton suitcase. "Things have come up and I'm moving back to Helena and I'm kinda hoping I'll have a job there?"

Silence loomed on Joe's end, as if he were contemplating her request. "Nic, I don't know. You're so jumpy and that's not dependable, kid. It's dangerous in this business and you know that."

"I know, but Joe, bad stuff is happening here and I can't be around anymore," she pleaded. "Tell me you've got something."

"I'll work on it and let you know," he relented. "When do you get back to town?"

"My train leaves the station here tomorrow morning at 6:30, so I should be in Helena by 4:00 or so," she answered.

Joe sighed. "I'll give you a call by Saturday. Until then, just wait around, I guess." He hung up, leaving her to shut off her phone and look around the room.

Most of her clothing from the closet had been packed up, except for some of her winter stuff and a few pairs of jeans. Her shoes were all loaded, as were most of her purses and bags. Unfortunately, other than clothes, she wasn't taking much with her this time because the train was pretty full and she was only permitted to bring five bags and she needed her clothes.

"Hey," Tommy said, letting himself into her apartment later that afternoon. "Can we hang?"

"Always," she nodded. "What are you doing here? Doesn't someone at G-Major need producing?"

He smiled. "Just because I'm the best they have doesn't mean I'm all they have."

"God, I will _not_ miss that," she joked, tossing another SME t-shirt into her suitcase. "Actually, I will. I'll miss everything about this place, for sure."

"So, what are your plans for tonight?" he asked, sitting down on their bed.

"Me and Spied are just gonna hang out here," she answered. "I want to spend my last night with him and we're gonna watch movies and order take-out and just be together."

"You're gonna miss him the most, aren't you?" Tommy asked her quietly, watching her to react. "Spiederman?"

Nic just nodded as tears filled her eyes. "I was a mess the last time I had to leave him, Tommy. This time will only be worse."

"I know, Nic," he nodded. "Maybe things will work out someday? Maybe he and Monica will just realize that they really can't be together, but can be great parents, and you'll come back to him? Jude's parents are divorced and she sees them equally."

"But Jude's 21, Tommy, not a little kid," she noted. "You know Kiley, in Montana?"

"Sure, Crazy Kiley," he nodded. "How could I not? She used to bleach my boxers on purpose. She still have her messed up hair?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Anyways, her parents had gotten divorced when she was seven and it really took it's toll on her. I mean, she's not considered crazy for nothing."

"But how do you know Spiederman and Monica will get married?" he asked. "Do they even want that?"

Nic shrugged, flipped the lid of her suitcase, and zipped it up. "It's what needs to happen, as much as it breaks my heart to even think about." She wiped her eyes, smudging her mascara as she did. "Do you think I'll ever meet someone else like him?"

"Hey," he whispered, standing up to pull her into a hug. "Nic, things will be okay, I promise, alright? Whether you and Spied can fix things or not, you'll be fine."

She shook her head into his shoulder. "I don't think so, Tommy."

Later that night, after Tommy had gone to pick up Sophie and Lex from Maria's, Spiederman came home, carrying bags from her favorite Chinese place.

"Did you talk to Joe?" he asked, handing her a box of fried rice and teriyaki chicken. "Will you get your job back?"

"I don't know," she answered. "He said me moving around so much is dangerous and he's not sure he can trust me to stay."

"Well, if not, I'm sure you'll find something better," Spiederman assured her, opening a can of Mountain Dew. "And if not, you could always come back here."

Nic eyed him. "No, I can't."

"I know," he smiled sadly. "That was just wishful thinking on my part."

"Spied, can't we just spend tonight as if I'm not leaving tomorrow morning and like it's still just you and me, hanging out around the apartment?" she asked. "I don't want my last night here to be sad and miserable. I just want to be with you."

Spiederman nodded. "That's all I want, too."

"Good," she smiled.

Half an hour later, after a peaceful dinner, Spiederman led Nic into the living room, sat her on the couch, and pulled a bag of movies out from underneath the coffee table. "I got all your favorites." He pulled out _The Breakfast Club, Titanic, _the first season of _Laguna Beach _on DVD

and _Drop Dead Gorgeous._ "Which first?"

"Oh, I don't know," she answered. "Umm, _Titanic_?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"You asked!" she cried, throwing a pillow at him. "And don't act like you don't love it."

"It's my favorite," he joked, putting the disc into the DVD player. Once it was in, he sat on the floor in front of her and leaned back, just as she hit him in the head. "What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing the spot she'd struck.

"If you think you're gonna sit down there and not with me, you've got another thing coming," she told him pointedly.

"I'm really gonna miss this," he said into her ear as they got settled together on the end of the sofa. "I'm gonna miss finding your stupid bras hanging on the bathroom handles. I'm gonna miss seeing nail polish on my socks because you put them on right after painting your toes. I'm gonna miss 500 Tupperware bowls in the refrigerator because you don't throw food away. And you know what I'll miss the most?"

"Waking up to my gorgeous face every morning?" she joked.

"That's a close second," he laughed, "but I'm actually gonna just miss you."

Nic sighed and closed her eyes. "Spied, don't. That can all wait until tomorrow."

"You're right," he agreed.

A while later, the two of them were laying on their backs, their feet up on the couch, playing with their hands in between them.

"Remember Jude's birthday, in Vegas, when Kyle fell off the balcony and landed perfectly in the pool?" Nic asked. "That's when I knew he'd be my best friend forever."

Spiederman rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause he appeared to be so stable at that moment. I sometimes wish he'd stop sleeping around with random models and meet a normal girl."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't be Kyle," she pointed out. "Of you three, Kyle's the one who, while the most mature, is the least settled."

"I know," he sighed. "The last girl he was with was crazy, though."

"Oh, the bikini girl?" she said. "Yeah, I know. God, her breath always smelled like Absolut vodka."

"She always looked a little doped up," he added.

"I'm gonna miss our bowling nights," Nic spoke up. "Those were always fun."

He smiled. Every third Saturday in the month, the whole G-Major gang and their significant others would go to a nearby bowling alley, just hanging out and bowling a few frames. Tommy and Kwest always got drunk, Kyle always hit on the employees, and they all always let Darius win.

"Yeah, they won't be the same," he agreed. "Who's gonna catwalk down the lanes?"

She smiled. "Well, Jude always tries, but she's no Gisele."

"Wanna put in another movie?" he asked, staring at her.

"Not really," she answered. "And why are you staring at me like that?"

Spiederman shrugged. "Cause I want to."

"You're a weirdo," she laughed, sitting up and yawning. "What time is it?"

"Uhh, 12:30," he reported, looking at the clock on the wall near the TV. "You think you should go to bed cause you gotta get up early?"

Before she could answer, her cell phone rang. "Hello?" she answered, not looking to see who it was.

"Hi," Jude mumbled into her end. "Are you sleeping?"

Nic looked at Spiederman and mouthed, _'Jude.'_ "Uhh, no, me and Spied are just watching _Titanic_ and talking about our bowling nights. What's up?"

"Do you think we can talk?" Jude asked, almost inaudibly. "Please?"

"Sure," Nic agreed. "I'll, uhh, come down there."

"You're going into the dragon lady's lair?" Spiederman asked in amazement after Nic hung up. "That's ballsy, Quincy."

She shrugged. "She's my best friend, Spied. I could never leave with her hating me like this."

"Nic, she doesn't hate you," he told her. "How would you feel if the table were turned and she were leaving? Especially if she'd already left once before?"

"That's true," she sighed. "Alright, if I'm not back in an hour and I haven't called, she's killed me," she joked, walking into the hallway to get to Jude and Tommy's penthouse.

"Jude's upstairs," Tommy reported from the kitchen where he was drinking his late-night coffee. "Don't go in mad or it'll end badly."

Nic nodded and walked up the steps to the entertainment room, where Jude was sitting on the overstuffed couch, staring at a blank TV screen. "Hey," she said quietly, shutting the door behind her. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry," Jude apologized immediately. "What I did last night was completely uncalled for and it's your life, Nic. I guess I've become so secure in my relationship with your brother that I can't understand what you and Spiederman are going through, you know?"

"Jude, don't," Nic said softly. "I get that you're upset. Trust me, _I'm_ upset, but I'm not strong enough to deal with this, I guess."

Jude smiled half-heartedly. "I just don't understand that cause you've always come off so strong and like, stubborn, so for you to not be able to do this is kinda bewildering, you know?"

"When are you guys gonna see that when it comes to Spiederman, everything you think I am just disappears?" Nic laughed. "He's like my kryptonite."

For a while, the two girls just sat in silence, leaning on each other for comfort. They knew things would be weird without each other, but that the other would always be there at the drop of a hat.

"It's late," Jude noted, reading the DVD clock. "1:15. What time does your train leave?"

"Uhh, 6:30," Nic answered. "I guess I should go. We agreed that just Spied would take me to the station in the morning."

Jude followed her down to the living room, where Tommy was sleeping on the couch while _Old School_ played quietly on the TV. "Tommy," she gently shook him. "Wake up, Nic's going."

He sat up and turned off the TV. "I'm gonna miss ya, kid," he mumbled, pulling his baby sister into a tight hug. "This is gonna work out, you know?"

"Sure," she sighed, just tired of denying it with him. "I love you, Tommy."

"I love you, too," he assured her, hugging her once more. "Call me when you get to Montana, I don't care what time."

She nodded and kissed his cheek before hugging Jude tightly. "I love you."

"I love you," Jude said back, sniffling.

Tommy wrapped an arm around his wife as they watched Nic walk out of their penthouse, possibly for one of the last times. "She'll be okay," he said, even though it was as if he was comforting himself, not her.


	7. Chapter 6

**Short chapter, so I'll post two, but this one is a little sad. Well, it's what everyone's been dreading, I guess. **

Nic woke up at 5:15 that morning and looked out the balcony door. It was still dark but she could see that it was raining, which very much fit her mood.

"Hey," Spiederman yawned, sitting up next to her. "You gonna take a shower?"

"Yeah," she answered sleepily, getting out of bed to stumble to the bathroom. "We'll leave around 6:00 or so, okay?"

He nodded and got up. "Cool. I'm gonna go make some coffee."

After her shower, Nic put on a comfortable pair of Blue Cult jeans, a fitted, white t-shirt, and red flip-flops. She put her hair into a side ponytail and applied subtle make-up.

"You ready?" Spiederman asked 45 minutes later, sticking his head into the bathroom.

"No," she admitted, taking a deep breath. "But we gotta go."

Their ride to the train station in his Jeep was quiet. She was too nervous to talk and he was afraid he'd say something that would make her stay against her wishes.

"So, this is it," he breathed as they stood at her platform, watching her luggage be loaded. "I think I can honestly say this is the worst day of my life."

"Worse than when I left the first time?" she mumbled as rain poured down around them.

"Much," he confirmed. "Because this time, I actually have to witness you leaving."

Nic started sobbing. "I don't want to do this. I don't want Monica to be pregnant. I don't want to have left two years ago cause then this never would be happening."

"Don't," he told her, pulling her shivering body into his arms. "Nic, I know you, much like Jude, don't believe in fate or destiny, but I do and I think this is all happening for a reason. If we're meant to be together, which I'm completely sure that we are, we will be. This is just a speed bump on that road."

Nic held her head against his chest, trying to control her tears. "I love you, Vincent."

"I love you, Nicole," he replied, now unable to hold back his own tears. "Even more than I love The Ramones."

She laughed and pulled away from him. "That's a lot of lovin' then, huh?"

"You know it," he joked, kissing her softly. "I guess that annoying whistle means you gotta board now, doesn't it?"

"I think so," she confirmed sadly. "Umm, just in case you're wrong, and things end like this, good luck, Spied," she mumbled. "With everything, you know. You're gonna be a great dad to that baby." And with that, she turned around and boarded the train that would take her away from the love her life all over again.


	8. Chapter 7

"She's gone," Spiederman whispered when he showed up at G-Major later that morning. "She's gone and I'm moving back to the loft."

"Spied," Jude said, hugging her best friend. "It's gonna be okay."

He pushed her away. "No, it's _not_ gonna be okay, dude! She's gone! Nic is gone! And I'm having a baby with my ex-fiancé! What is _okay_ about that, huh?"

Tommy heard all the yelling and joined them from his office. "Hey, what's going on out here?"

"Tell your wife she needs a reality check," Spiederman spat, going to lock himself in studio C.

"Your sister is halfway to Helena right now," Jude explained. "And obviously, Vin ain't taking it so well."

"No one is," Tommy noted, looking around the room. "It's like someone died."

Wally was strumming someone's old acoustic on the couch while Kyle sat next to him, staring off into space. Darius' office door was shut, as was Portia's, and even Julia, the receptionist, was just kind of there.

"This is gonna be apocalyptic," Jude mumbled, leading her husband away to studio B to record.

When Nic arrived at the train station in Helena, her Montana hometown, waiting for her at the platform was Kiley Walsh, her local best friend, wearing super short cut off jean shorts and a lime green tunic. It was an odd look, but Kiley always could pull off the odd ones.

"Hey, beyotch," Kiley smirked. "You look like death warmed up."

"Aww, thanks," Nic rolled her eyes, falling into her friend's arms. "How are you?"

"I started my own PR firm, which, in Montana, is like birthday parties for ponies, and finally dumped Charlie," Kiley explained, helping Nic load her luggage onto a cart.

Nic's eyes widened. "No! Did you really? Well, good, it's about time, Ki; Charlie Gilmore is a tool."

"Yeah, but his family owns half the land in Helena, so it was a superficial thing," Kiley shrugged nonchalantly. "The only problem is I'm now living with Regan Holley and we fight about everything."

"Ooh, Regan Holley," Nic shuddered. "She's the sole reason I hate Orlando Bloom movies."

Kiley chuckled. "You mean because she like, _dated_ him in high school? God, it's awful." She paused. "We should totally get a place!"

"For now, I'm just gonna stick with Allen and Lydia," Nic told her. "I need to know I'm gonna be okay before I start really settling myself into a permanent life here."

"I understand," Kiley nodded. "How did Spiederman take it this morning?"

"Uhh, better than I did," Nic admitted, following Kiley towards her red Saturn Vue. "I was a mess, and so was he, but he held it together better."

While Kiley drove her towards her aunt and uncle's estate, Nic dialed Tommy.

"Hey," he answered, turning down the speakers in the sound room as the SME boys recorded. He spun around so his back was to them. "Did you get there okay?"

"Yeah," she told him, leaning her head against the window. "Umm, is he around?"

"They're recording right now," he confirmed. "You want him?"

She sighed. "Give me Kyle first."

"Hey, drummer boy, come here," he said into the microphone. "Phone call."

Kyle joined him in the sound room and took his phone in confusion. "Uhh, hello?"

"Hi," Nic whispered.

"Hey!" he cried, sitting down on the couch. "We miss you." He eyed Spiederman through the glass, who was just looking down at his shoes sadly. "Especially one of us."

"Yeah," she said, her voice cracking slightly. Kiley reached over and took her hand comfortingly. "How's he been?"

"It's like someone took away his guitar," Kyle said. "And he watched them throw it into an inferno."

"Oh," she mumbled. "I feel like the guitar."

Spiederman looked up and saw Kyle still on the phone. "Dude, come on. I'm supposed to meet with Monica tonight about when she wants me to move back in."

"Put him on," Nic said quickly. "Hurry, before I change my mind."

"Spied," Kyle called, waving him. "Phone."

"Fine," Spiederman rolled his eyes, put down his Fender, and walked in. He took Tommy's phone and held it to his ear. "Yeah?"

Nic was quiet for a minute. "Spied."

"Nic," he said, his impatience diminishing at the sound of her voice. "Did you get there okay?"

"Yeah," she answered. "My friend Kiley is just pulling up to my aunt and uncle's now."

"That's good," he told her.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Umm, I know you're busy, but I just wanted to let you guys know I was here. Tell Wally I said hi and that I miss everyone." She hung up before she started crying again.

"Hi, sweetie," Lydia Cameron, Nic's aunt, smiled when she walked into the house a

minute later. "Hi, Kiley."

"Hey," Kiley greeted. "Nic, I'm gonna start bringing in your stuff, okay? You can just settle."

Instead of spending time with her aunt and uncle, Nic walked up the stairs to her old bedroom and closed the door behind her. Nothing about it had changed, at all. There were old pictures of her and Kiley all over, including a few of her and Tommy from when they were little and some of her with her parents before everything that had happened. It was a total pre-college teenagers room, complete with Britney Spears posters and old copies of _Seventeen_ magazine.

"Hey," Kiley said softly, letting herself in. "Man, everything looks exactly the same."

"I know, right?" Nic laughed half-heartedly. "It's like I stepped into a time machine and am 17-years-old all over again."

Kiley laughed. "Haven't you always been 17?"

"I always thought so," Nic confirmed. "But these last few days have made me grow up and I think I finally actually feel older than Jude."

"Jude," Kiley repeated. "Your brother's wife?"

"Yes," Nic nodded. "Also known as Jude Harrison-Quincy, the biggest musician in Canada."

"Not much into that kind of music, but I know," Kiley confirmed.

Nic rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you're not still a die-hard Beyonce fan?"

"Duh," Kiley replied. "Nic, come on. My goal is to somehow get to New York and plan her wedding to Jay-Z. You know this."

"You're such an idiot," Nic shook her head. "Thanks, Ki, for bringing in my stuff."

"Anytime," Kiley replied. "Well, I figure you'll want to settle in and kinda relax, so call me whenever you want to get together, okay?"

Nic hugged her friend and nodded. "Okay, I will."

Sunday afternoon, Nic walked through the terminal in the airport, hoping to dodge the paparazzi she knew staked out there. She was back in Toronto already, but unfortunately, not to stay. She was only in town until the next day, as there were no flights back to Montana that night, and she was only there to get some more of her stuff. She hadn't even told anyone she was coming, figuring that was the best way to keep messy things from getting messier.

On the taxi ride to her apartment, she rode past G-Major and sighed. Even though it was Sunday, she knew the band and Jude were inside, probably re-recording something for her fourth album, which was set to be released in May.

"Miss, is this it?" the driver asked as he stopped at her complex. "No bags or luggage?"

"No, I'm going back tomorrow," she explained, paying him generously. "Thank you."

Inside, everything was still the same. Pictures were in the same place, the TV was still dusty, and an old can of Diet Mountain Dew, which she knew was from the previous Tuesday, was still on the window seat.

"Gross," she muttered, laughing all the same.

Suddenly, the phone on the wall rang, causing her to jump slightly. She read that it was just a telemarketer and ignored it, walking back to what was their bedroom. It was dark and cold, but nothing had changed there either. The bed was unmade, meaning he'd slept in it the night before, his cell phone charger was still on the dresser, and the closet doors were flung open, with his clothes piling out.

Later that night, Nic laid in the bed, taking in his scent that was on his pillow. She missed it and was trying to think of ways to sneak the pillowcase back when the bedroom door opened.

"Spied?" she whispered, looking at the clock. _1:15_.

"Yeah?" he replied, kicking off his shoes. "Who is that?"

"Do you have different girls here nightly?" she joked, sitting up in the bed. "It's me, you idiot."

Even though she couldn't see him, she could feel him smile at her. "Nic? What are you doing here? Are you coming back? No more Montana?"

"Whoa, slow down, Sparky," she laughed. "Umm, I needed to get a few more things, I'm not here to stay, and I leave for Montana in the morning. I had planned on leaving tonight but there weren't any flights."

He sat down next to her. "Were you not going to tell anyone?"

"No," she answered quietly. "I figured it would be easier if I came and went, not causing any more problems." She sighed. "Are you still staying here instead of the loft?"

"Pretty much," he confirmed. "I've been to the loft, umm, three times since you left, I think. I bought it and nothing about it has changed, but it's so different now."

"I'm sure," she agreed, sliding back down to her pillow. "But isn't it weird to be here?"

"Not anymore," he said softly, climbing into bed with her. "Can I stay here with you tonight?"

"You better," she smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "What's one last hooray?"

He let out a long sigh. "God, this just feels right. I don't even think I would be able to get both arms around Monica."

"Spied, she's only four months along," she pointed out. "She's barely even showing at all."

They laid in silence for a while, just happy to be together, even if only for a night.

"So, what happens tomorrow?" he asked, finally breaking the quiet. "I mean, do you go back early?"

"8 AM," she sighed. "And I need to you to promise you won't tell anyone, especially my brother, that I was ever here."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. It makes me feel special to know you're only seeing me." He kissed the top of her head. "Are you okay in Montana?"

"Not really," she answered. "I mean, I'm back at work, as a freakin' photog editor, and I hate it, but I'll deal."

"You'll be fine," he assured her, taking her hand under the covers. "And eventually, things will be okay."

Nic sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of; that you and I will be able to just move on, like nothing happened."

"Please," he scoffed. "Nic, I'll be 94-years-old, wearing Depends, and I'll remember everything about you. You're my girl."

"I know," she whispered, failing to suppress a yawn. "Think you can get away from Darius to drop me at the airport tomorrow morning?"

"Duh," he smirked, tightening his grip around her tiny waist. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, baby."

Even though she knew it would complicate things more when she left, she looked up at him and kissed him softly.

"I needed that," he assured her. "Even something so small is huge."

Nic closed her eyes. "Good night, Spied."

"Night," he sighed, resting his head on hers as they fell asleep.

Ironically, the sun was shining brilliantly the next morning when her cell phone alarm went off at 6:15.

"Oh, awesome," Spiederman said dryly, using the comforter to block them from the light. "It's so early."

"I know," she yawned, "but we gotta get up, doll."

He threw back the cover and whined. "Aww, man."

While she quickly showered, he dug around the pantry for some bagels and cream cheese while putting on a pot of coffee.

"Are you ready?" she asked after eating. "It's 7:00 now and my flight leaves at 8:00."

"Let's go," he nodded, leading her out the door. "This sucks, again."

"I know," she whispered, climbing into his Jeep. "Gosh, it's only been a few days and I miss this little baby."

He laughed. "It misses you."

"Duh," she smirked, stealing his tagline. "I make this Jeep look good."

Spiederman looked over at her. "Yeah, you do."

Their ride was short, as the complex was close to the airport, and as they walked towards security, media flashbulbs went off like crazy in their faces, but Nic was lucky to keep her anonymity.

"They never quit, do they?" she joked, stopping in front of the metal detectors. "So, this is it."

"Deja vu?" he smiled. "Alright, this time, you're gonna go and not look back and I think that's good."

Nic nodded and hugged him, kissing his stubbly cheek as she did. "Sounds good."

"Be good," he said as she turned to walk away. "If you meet any boys, they can't be musicians."

"I'm done with them," she called over her shoulder. "I miss you already!"


	9. Chapter 8

**So, it's late and I'm listening to FOB's 'This Ain't A Scene...' remix with Kanye West, I'm tired, and I can't sleep. I go back to school tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it, so I thought I'd post a chapter. And, like the writer's said that we'd love ep. 7 (The Long and Winding Road), I'll warn everyone now that you'll love chapter 12, which will come up as chapter 13 on here. Only a few more to get there. Hope you can stick it out. Love to the reviewers and sorry if chapter 6 made you cry. LoL.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

On Tuesday morning, Tommy woke up to an empty bed and heard water running out in the kitchen.

"Jude?" he called out, padding down the hallway. "What are you doing up so early? We don't have to be in until 1:30."

"Shh," Jude whispered, pointing to the couch. "I got up to check on Lex, cause she wasn't feeling good last night, and I came in for a drink and found him crashed on the couch."

Tommy looked to the living room and found Spiederman hanging over the sofa. "Poor guy."

"She's only been gone for five days and his life is already upside-down," Jude noted, pouring them both a cup of coffee. "Your aunt said she's about the same in Montana, just kinda going through the motions."

"I know," Tommy sighed. "It's bad."

"I'm not sure bad even begins to describe it," Jude said as Spiederman stirred on the couch. "Oh, stop gossiping, he's waking up."

"Good morning," Spiederman yawned sadly, sitting up to face them. "Sorry if I scared anyone when you woke up, but I went to the loft last night and saw Monica sleeping in the bed

and kinda lost it."

Tommy looked from Spiederman to Jude and back to Spiederman. "What does that mean?"

"Well, for the last four months, every time I've looked into a bed and have seen a sleeping girl, it's been Nic," Spiederman half-whispered. "I'm just not ready to sleep in the same room with her yet."

Tommy set down his coffee cup and made his way back to his and Jude's bedroom. He pulled his Jack Spade duffel bag from the top shelf of his closet and started packing.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Jude wanted to know, leaning against the doorframe as she watched him. "Gotta meet your mistress in Montreal?"

"Very funny," he said dryly, rolling his eyes. "No, I'm going to Montana."

"Tommy," she warned. "Don't get involved, please? Let them work things out."

"They're not working anything out!" Tommy exclaimed. "Am I just supposed to sit back and watch my sister and a guy who's become one of my best friends just throw their lives away?"

Jude shut the door as she entered the room. "Tom, calm down."

"Jude, just let me do this," he pleaded.

"And what do you plan on doing?" she sighed, sitting down on their bed. "Tie her up and drag her back here?"

"If I have to," he shrugged. "They can't keep going on like this and you know it."

"But we can't keep butting in and _you_ know it," she put in. "We're not responsible for them; he's 21 and she's 23, meaning they're adults."

Tommy stopped packing and sat down next to her. "Even if I can't persuade her to come back, which I don't think I will, I need to see for myself that she's okay."

"Alright," she agreed, knowing she'd never change his mind. "When and for how long?"

"I'd like to catch a flight tonight if possible, and probably until Thursday or Friday," he answered. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"No," she answered honestly. "But if seeing Nic will make you feel better, then who am I to stop you?"

"My wife," he reminded her. "Jude, if you don't want me to go, really, I won't."

She smirked. "Trust me, me keeping you here, even if you say you don't mind, is far worse then sending you there. You'd mope and whine and make me feel guilty, so just go."

"Thanks," he smiled, kissing her softly. "Maybe some good will come of this," he added before hurrying to pack things from the bathroom.

"And maybe not," Jude murmured, going to check on her daughters.

Just as Nic was turning off her computer to go to bed, she heard a car pulling up the driveway. Allen and Lydia had gone out of town for a business banquet in his honor, so she was home alone, and slightly scared.

"Nic?" she thought she heard her brother call out from downstairs. "Are you here?"

She opened her door. "Tommy?" She walked down the hallway and stood over the foyer, leaning on the banister. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting?" he shrugged sheepishly, dropping his bag. "Nic, I woke up this morning and found Spiederman on my couch because when he went home last night, it was Monica in his bed, not you."

"And that's my fault how?" she demanded, walking down the spiral staircase towards him. "I'm not the one who got his ex-fiancé pregnant, you know."

"Finally," he breathed.

"What does that mean?" she demanded.

"You're finally bitter about this all," Tommy said. "I mean, Allen's said you're just kind of moping around, not doing anything. If you're getting mad, you're finally moving on."

Before he could continue, Nic started screaming. And not just screaming, but she picked up one of Lydia's antique vases on the front table and threw it at the mirror hanging over it. She started beating her fists into his chest as he pulled her into a hug.

"Stop it!" she shrieked. "I'm not okay, I'm not moving on!"

"Nic!" he exclaimed, trying to calm her down. "It's gonna be okay."

She shook her head furiously. "No, it's not, Tommy. Quit patronizing me."

"I'm not patronizing you," he assured her, sitting down with her on the steps. "I just want you, and Spied, to be okay. Your life is too important for you to just sit idly by while we all live."

"I know," she sighed in defeat. "It's only been five days and I think I'm doing pretty good." She smiled inwardly, knowing Spiederman had never mentioned her little trip.

"Did you talk to Joe about your job?" he asked, looking for a subject change. "Are you back at _The Chronicle_ yet?"

"Yep," she answered. "Doing a job I know absolutely nothing about."

He stared at her. "What do they have you doing?"

"I'm a photography editor," she explained. "I have to go to shoots and handle photographers and models and stuff I used to avoid."

"Well, at least you'll probably learn something," he shrugged. "And maybe it'll be something you really like."

"Yeah," she scoffed. "Remember when we were kids and Mom and Dad thought ballet might be something I'd like?"

He smirked. "You tied your slippers to the telephone pole."

"Yes, I did," she confirmed. "And then I tried cheerleading and stuffed my pom-poms in their toilet as punishment for forcing me to finish a season."

"We weren't really athletic kids, were we?" he laughed.

"Well, we were always athletic, but not 'team sports' kind of kids," she corrected. "We used to play outside all the time. We were just cooler than all the kids we knew."

"Aww, there's the sister I know and love," he teased. "Well, I'm here until Friday morning, so for the next two days, I'm all yours."

She rolled her eyes. "Go back to Jude, please."

"Hey!" he cried, nudging her gently. "When's the last time we just hung out together?"

"Luckily, when I was eight," she joked. "No, actually, we could do some of the stuff we did when you were here for Sophie."

His expression turned dark. "You really hated me when I left, you know? How come?"

"I thought you were abandoning me again," she shrugged. "For some girl you barely knew."

"Jude," he nodded. "But I thought you understood that I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her, like I am now?"

"I did," she assured him, "but I thought that in loving Jude, you were loving me less and I'd already been through that once when you jumped ship for Boyz Attack."

"Nic, you're my baby sister," he told her softly. "And while I'm completely in love with Jude, I never loved you any less; it's just a different kind of love."

"Yeah," she breathed. "I guess I feel the same way with Spiederman."

"Thing will work out the way they're meant to," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I promise."


	10. Chapter 9

**Quick update before I leave for my last day of work. Yay.**

Late Thursday morning, Spiederman woke up and sighed. It was the first time he'd stayed at the loft overnight and slept in the same bed as Monica. He looked over and saw that she was already awake and probably downstairs, making breakfast. Before he could get out of bed, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" he yawned, looking for a t-shirt.

"Spied, it's me," Tommy said quietly, watching Nic dance to the Spice Girls while she cooked pancakes. "What are you doing?"

"Waking up," Spiederman answered, running a hand through his messy blonde hair. "Why?"

"I'm with her," Tommy muttered, turning his back to his sister. "Nic, I mean."

Spiederman pulled his hand away. "Yeah, Jude told me you went down there. Can I ask why?"

"Well, I spent two days trying to get through to you and that wasn't working, so I moved onto her," Tommy explained. "Though after a day with her, I've made no progress."

"Tommy, what do you want me to say here?" Spiederman asked. "I'm supposed to have lunch with the Robbins' today and then I'm meeting with the band and Darius about the progression of our second album and since our producer _won't be there_, I actually have to pay attention."

Tommy laughed. "Hilarious."

"Hey, who's on the phone?" Nic called over her shoulder. "Jude? Tell her I miss her! And the girls!"

"No, it's, uhh, Kwest," Tommy lied. "He's got a question about something Patsy wants to do with her album."

"Well, tell him I miss him," Nic shrugged, going back to her cooking.

"She misses you," Tommy told him. "She thinks you're Kwest, of course, but trust me, she misses Spiederman way more."

"I miss her, too," Spiederman whispered. Suddenly he heard Monica's footsteps on the stairs. "Tommy, I gotta go. Bye." He hung up, threw his phone on the night stand, and slid back under the covers.

Monica silently opened the door and stuck her head in. "Vince, are you awake?"

"Huh?" he said, sitting up tiredly. "Oh, yeah, I guess I am now."

"You don't have to get up!" she assured him hurriedly. "There are omelets downstairs, the way you like them, if you want and my parents expect us at Wyndemere at 2:00."

"Can we _not_ go to Wyndemere?" he requested. "It just seems that recently, that place and I do not go so well together."

She stepped into the room and went to her vanity. "Vince, my parents already made the reservation and you know they don't like change."

"Right, because it's still always about them," he mumbled, getting out of bed. "I'm gonna take a shower and pass on that omelet, but thanks anyways."

"Sure," she nodded as he shut the door behind him.

After his shower, Spiederman locked himself into his music room and picked up his acoustic. He missed Nic, that was for sure; even the memories of her visit were fading already. He hated being in the same house with Monica, preparing to raise a child with her. But at the same time, he felt truly sorry for Monica, too. Here she was, 21-years-old, forced into an environment with the guy who'd stood her up at the altar. On top of that, the only thing on his mind was the girl he'd left her for. In the time since Nic had finally gone, Spiederman had only thought of the baby once.

"Dude," Wally said as he let himself and Kyle in a moment later. "What are you doing in here?"

"How'd you get in?" Spiederman demanded.

Kyle held up a bobby pin. "Free lessons from Patsy."

"Well, what do you want?" Spiederman asked. "I'm busy."

"Right," Wally smirked. "Because holding your guitar and staring off into space is _so_ important."

Spiederman glared at his two best friends and put the guitar aside. "Okay, I may not be busy, but I'm not in the mood."

"Dude, we have that meeting tonight about the album, which is basically going nowhere, so get in the mood," Kyle advised. "I mean, we're looking at an August release and yet, we have three songs done."

Wally cut in. "That means we need like, ten to eleven songs in four months. That's a lot of song-writing."

"Then why don't you guys try to help me?" the guitarist snapped. "You're always finding something wrong with my lyrics, so instead of criticizing, you take the reins."

"Since I know you're upset right now, I'm gonna let what you just said slide, but for future reference, I wrote our most popular song," Kyle pointed out. "We wouldn't have gone

platinum in our debut album if it weren't for 'Leave the Running to Track Stars,' you know."

Spiederman sighed. "I know; I'm sorry. Look, Tommy called this morning."

"From Montana," Wally filled in. "How's that going?"

"Not good," Spiederman answered somberly. "He said she's as bad as me and it only got worse."

"What?" Kyle asked worriedly, settling into a bean bag. "Is she okay?"

"I heard her voice," Spiederman whispered. "And I heard the Spice Girls and I could just imagine her dancing around, making banana pancakes."

Kyle smiled. "It's her specialty."

"Naturally, Monica appeared at the time so I had to end the call and pretend I was still sleeping," Spiederman explained. "And now, I'm set for lunch with her parents at 2:00 and then D at 5:30. I've only been awake for an hour and already my day is not so good."

"No kidding," Wally agreed. "I woke up at 9:45, Jess made Belgian waffles for breakfast, we finished painting the guest room, and then Kyle picked me up for this intervention."

Kyle shrugged. "I woke up, left Sasha's house, showered, and picked up Wally."

"Sasha?" Wally repeated. "The underwear model for Calvin Klein? You dog."

"She's pretty hot," Kyle agreed. "But Russian, so I don't understand a word she says." He paused. "Maybe that's a good thing. For all I know, she's telling me she's in love with me or that her dad is some heavyweight wrestler from Moscow. Either way, she's gonna be a one-hit wonder."

Spiederman threw an extra guitar pick at him. "And Nic swears she likes you just the way you are."

"Who wouldn't?" Kyle shrugged playfully. "Nic's smart; she's got good taste in men, whether it's her choice in friends or boyfriends, I guess."

"Too bad she can't find one that doesn't bring a Titanic full of drama," Spiederman mumbled. "I mean, there was me, and then Tra Malcolm, and then me again."

Wally held up a hand. "Wait. Could you please explain the Tra Malcolm story? Or did you not know that they were never engaged?"

"I knew," Spiederman confirmed. "Trust me, it was way shocking when Tommy told me back when that was all unfolding, but it worked out. Anyways, she hooked up with Tra last June and they made it six months before she dumped him."

"Why?" Kyle interrupted. "I mean, he dated Gisele, supposedly."

"She did it the night he found her clutching the magazine that broke the Monica engagement, drunk out of her Manolos," Spiederman told them. "She started ranting about not loving him and how it wasn't fair, so she dumped him. Less than a week later, she was back here."

Wally nodded. "And the faux-engagement that he seemed okay with?"

"The night Nic first made her debut at G-Major from being back, Jude called Tra about getting him here for a little engagement party for the two of them," Spiederman continued. "He told her that Nic had dumped him and there was no wedding. After that, he called Nic and they talked about it and she explained everything and he agreed to come here and play 'Fiancé' to make me jealous, which obviously worked, and then they orchestrated the break-up."

"Wow," Kyle breathed. "Quite the elaborate plan she formulated there, huh? I mean, that was something pretty huge and she was able to keep it from me for four months, so hat's off to her."

Spiederman wasn't listening. Instead, he was staring at a picture on a small table near the door, of him with Monica back at Thanksgiving. It was pre-Nic's return, pre-baby, and pre-heartbreak. They were standing in his parents' living room, in front of the just put up Christmas tree. In the picture, they looked like the epitome of 'happy couple,' but looks were deceiving. Deep down, he'd known he'd never been completely happy with Monica because no matter how much he had once loved her, she still wasn't that brunette girl who'd changed his life over two years before.

"You can put it away, you know," Wally said, breaking his concentration. "A frame that small will fit into any standard shoe box."

"Why put it away?" Spiederman asked. "That's going to be my life now. Holidays with Monica and the baby, spending time with people who know I'm unhappy."

Wally and Kyle sighed. They were starting to realize that their onetime fearless leader was no longer so fearless.

"Are you almost ready?" Monica asked Spiederman around 1:30 that afternoon. "We should probably get there before my parents do; it's polite."

He refused to look at her. "Whatever."

"So we'll take my car, right?" she assumed, looking through her purse for her keys. "My parents hate your Jeep."

"And I hate your stupid Volvo," he muttered. "I'm not riding in that car."

She stared at him. "Then what do you recommend we do, Vince? Walk? Or, worse, take a taxi?"

"We'll take Nic's Lexus," he answered. "She left that to me cause it was too hard to get it to Montana. Do your parents have anything against a Lexus?"

"No," she shook her head, leading him out of the loft. "How will we explain it?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'll worry about that when the time comes."

The ride to Wyndemere was silent, other than the rough track of SME's latest single, 'It's in the Kool-Aid,' playing in the stereo. When they got to the restaurant, a hostess led them to their table and seated them next to each other.

"Mr. Spiederman, how nice to see you," Antonio, his favorite waiter, smiled when he approached them for drinks. "Is Miss Nic not joining you today?"

"No," Spiederman said, looking at the menu. "She's not."

Antonio nodded. "I see. Well, might I start you off with some drinks today?"

"I'll have lemon water," Monica told him. "Room temperature, please."

"And I'll have a rum and Coke," Spiederman added.

Monica eyed him. "Do you think that's wise? To drink at lunch with my parents?"

"I don't think it's wise to _not _drink at lunch with your parents. In fact, I don't think it's wise to have lunch with your parents at all, but I'm here, so I'm doing it my way," he shrugged. "If George and Elise don't like it, it just makes it all the more reason to do it."

A moment later, Monica's parents arrived and sat down across from them.

"Vince, how are you?" George asked tersely, obviously just as unhappy to he there. "How are things with your music?"

"Fine," Spiederman responded vaguely. "We're working on our second album and then we'll probably start touring sometime in November or so."

"You'll go on tour when you have Monica and an infant at home?" Elise interrupted in horror. "How could you just leave them like that?"

"It's my job," he explained. "I'm not going to give up something I've worked so hard for to raise a family I never planned."

George was outraged. "You did plan this family last December when you proposed to our daughter. You just gave it up when _that girl _came back to town."

"_That girl_?" Spiederman repeated heatedly. "You mean _that girl_ who voluntarily agreed to let me come back to Monica to help her? Don't talk about her like she's a bad person, dude."

"She did the right thing," Elise said coldly. "She'd be a homewrecker if she kept you from this baby."

Spiederman stood up. "This is ridiculous. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you two yuppies talk about stuff you know absolutely nothing about." He threw some money onto the

table and hurried out, speeding away in the Lexus.

"Who's car is that?" George wondered, watching him go. "Does he no longer have the Jeep?"

"He does," Monica replied. "It's Nic's; she left it to him," she added sadly.


	11. Chapter 10

**Okay, so another chapter I like. If I'm making Monica look like the bad guy, I don't intend to, so sympathy for her is not uncommon. She's just kinda in the wrong situation at the wrong time. And if you think Kyle needs a woman, just wait. I'm not done updating, or even writing, this story yet, so you'll see. As always, much love to the reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"Do you ever regret not going back to school?" Nic blurted out to Tommy on Thursday night as they sat in the swing in Allen and Lydia's backyard, watching the sunset. "I mean, grade seven? Come on, Tommy, you weren't dumb."

"Actually, I was," he corrected her. "I mean, I got in trouble for fighting and instead of facing the music of it all, I saw an easy out with Boyz Attack and took it. _That _was dumb. It's not that I don't appreciate what I got out of those days, but I definitely regret things I did, people I hurt, and how my actions worked out for others. I mean, you yourself said you were depressed because of it."

Nic was quiet. Only her aunt and uncle, Kiley, and her mom had ever known about her depression. "You left two months after Dad died and I felt like everything I knew was closing in around me, so I broke. I mean, I didn't leave my room for full days at a time, I was literally starving myself, and I couldn't handle it. I was clinically diagnosed as depressed and spent two weeks in a rehab center, trying to fix it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" he wondered. "I would've given up Boyz Attack in a heartbeat, you know that."

"You were living your dream," she shrugged. "I mean, even as kids, all you ever wanted was to be famous and live the life of a rock star. With Boyz Attack, you got that. Yeah, it spun a little out of control at times, meaning Portia, plus Chaz, but still. I would've hated myself way more had I made you give it up."

"Nic," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You're my sister. You were always more important to me than that stupid group, even if I forgot how to show it sometimes."

"Thanks," she smiled. "So, do you think your trip down here was worth it? Can you go back to Toronto with the ideal that I'm going to be okay?"

He knew that if he answered honestly and said no, she'd get upset, so he lied. "Yeah. I mean, you're a big girl and you know to call if you ever need anything at all."

After spending Friday morning at G-Major, in a meeting with Liam, Jude picked up Sophie and Lex early from Maria's to pick Tommy up at the airport.

"Daddy!" Sophie cried, racing towards him as soon as he passed through security. "I missed you!"

"I missed you guys," he assured her, picking her up. "Lex, aren't you going to give me a hug?"

The two-year-old stood next to her mother and stared at him.

"She was mad Wednesday morning when you weren't home to wake her up and take her to the park," Jude whispered. "I think she's still upset."

Tommy bent down to his youngest daughter's level. "Lex, baby, I'm sorry I went away. Daddy had to go see Icky Nicy out of town, okay? I promise I will take you to the park tomorrow and we'll stay all day, just the two of us. How does that sound?"

She just stared at him for another minute before breaking into her mischievous smile and jumping on him. "Okay, Daddy!"

"Jude, Tommy, over here!" a random paparazzi yelled, waving his camera in their direction. "Do you care to comment on the announcement of Spiederman's love child?"

"Do you care to get that thing out of my face?" Tommy shot back, gripping Sophie's hand as Lex took her other and Jude was on Lex's left. "If you don't mind, we're leaving. There's your comment."

"Ooh, tough guy," Jude joked as they rode up the escalator towards baggage claim. "Talking down to the paparazzo's. How brave of you."

Once in their Range Rover, Tommy began to tell Jude about his trip and Nic and that he thought things would get worse before they got better.

"I just hope she's as strong as she usually is in these kinds of situation," Jude sighed,

leaning back against the front seat. "But as she's said, she's not so stable when it comes to Spied."

He looked out his side window while they were at a stoplight. "I know. I'm just worried about her."

"We all are," Jude confirmed.

Kyle and Wally sat in the lobby of G-Major the next Monday, trying to find things to occupy themselves while Spiederman moped around.

"He's driving me crazy," Wally muttered. "Darius is being kinda understanding about this crap, but I'm not gonna. Okay, Nic left; yeah, it sucks, but it's not changing, so he's gotta move on."

"I know," Kyle agreed. "I mean, I don't like her being gone, but dude's got a kid on the way, so he's gonna have to grow up."

Before Wally could go on, his cell phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Wally, it's Monica," a soft voice came through. "Could you tell Vince that I'm going out of town, by train, for a few days, and that I should be back by Thursday?"

"Where are you going?" he asked. "Fancy cribs in Quebec?"

"A sad girl in Montana," she reported. "And I know it sounds completely crazy that I'm going to see her, but it's something I need to do."

Wally was momentarily silenced. "Well, I don't think it's a great idea, Mon, but you're an adult and you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll let Spied know." He hung up and put his phone away, staring at Kyle in disbelief. "You will never guess where Monica is going."

"Far away?" Kyle hoped. "No, I don't know."

"A little place I like to call Helena, Montana," Wally said, nodding his head to emphasis the shock. "Crazy, right?"

"Are you serious?" Kyle asked. "Why?"

Wally leaned in so Spiederman wouldn't hear. "Monica just said it's something she _needs_ to do. I'm thinking it's gonna end up apocalyptic."

"To say the least," Kyle said as Spiederman walked up towards them. "Hey, dude."

Spiederman sat down on the chair across from them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," Wally shrugged. "Oh, so Monica called and said to tell you that she's going out of town for a bit but that she'll be back Thursday."

"What?" Spiederman cried. "Where's she going?"

"She didn't say," Wally lied. "Just out of town."

"God, I can't stand her!" Spiederman complained. "She nags me all the time about where I'm going and who I'm with and she just decides to go out of town without telling me?"

Kwest and Jude walked out of studio A at that time and heard him say that.

"Where's Monica going?" Kwest spoke up. "To see her parents in Barrie?"

Spiederman shrugged and stood up. "Who cares? To be honest, I hope she doesn't even come back." And with that, he locked himself in studio C.

"Montana," Wally informed them. "Monica's going to face off with Nic."

Jude's eyes raised in horror. "Please tell me you're joking?"

"I wish," Wally sighed. "I can see a reality show in the making."

Kwest laughed. "It would definitely be interesting to watch."

Nic wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck and rolled her eyes behind her oversized Dior sunglasses. "Pierre, can you load any faster? Joe's expecting these proofs by 5:45 and it's 3:30 now."

"I'm trying," Pierre Bianco, the photographer in charge of the shoot she was on, told her angrily. "This camera is not cooperating."

"Then get a new one," she muttered, sipping her coffee.

There was a light tap on her shoulder as her assistant, Natalia, spoke. "Umm, Miss Quincy, you have a visitor."

"If it's someone from the office, tell them we'll talk later," she said.

"It's not," Natalia assured her. "She says her name is Monica Robbins."

Nic froze. "Where is she?"

"At the fountain," Natalia explained. "She says it's really important, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered."

"Fine," Nic sighed. "Pierre, take a short break. I'll be back in ten."

Nic found Monica near the fountain of the park they were shooting at, sitting patiently in all her pregnant glory.

"Thanks for meeting me," Monica said politely, standing up to greet her. "You look nice."

"Mm-hmm," Nic nodded, sitting down. "No offense, Monica, but what are you doing here? You and I have nothing to talk about."

Monica stared at her. "I think we do. Nic, this isn't about us; this is about Vince, or Spiederman, or whatever you want to call him."

"What about him, Monica?" Nic demanded, glaring at the girl in front of her, even though Monica couldn't see it behind the sunglasses. "He's a big boy who can take care of himself. Besides, you win."

"Win what?" Monica asked.

"At life," Nic shrugged vaguely. "You got the boy and the baby and the future."

Monica smiled sadly and placed a hand over her belly. "I may have a bright future, and I may have a baby on the way, but I will never have the boy."

"What are you talking about?" Nic asked. "He picked you."

"Picked me?" Monica scoffed. "No, he got stuck with me. I unintentionally trapped him into a lifetime of regret and hatred. He hates everything now. I'll never get the boy, no matter  
how hard I try. We'll never be together, never get married, never grow old together." She paused. "He's never going to love me again."

Nic stared down at her Manolo Blahnik heels, unsure of how to respond. "Monica, why are you telling me this? To rub it in that even though he doesn't want you, you have him? That I have to waste my time looking at photos and deciding what's wrong with them? If that was your goal, congratulations, you got it."

"You're not listening," Monica told her calmly. "He _loves_ you. He's always loved _you_. Even when I was with him, it was still you." She sighed and sat down. "And I know you think you're the victim here, but how do you think I feel? I have to wake up everyday in the same bed as a man who resents me, even if he doesn't mean to. I'm the reason he's not with you."

"No, you're not," Nic whispered. "I am. And I don't say that because I told him to be with you for the baby. I mean that because if I had never left just a little over two years ago, I'd probably be you; or post-you. I mean, we'd be married, with a kid, or maybe more, and you'd be Monica something else, not even involved in this mess."

"That's true," Monica agreed with a sad smile. "But maybe I needed some drama in my life, you know? I grew up so sheltered and my parents did everything for me and it was so normal."

"Normal?" Nic repeated. "What's that? I grew up with Tommy, meaning nothing was ever normal. Our dad died when I was 10, my mom was institutionalized when I was 13 and my brother ran off to some boy band. Normal was never a phase I went through."

Monica was quiet for a minute. "You should come back, Nic."

"I can't," Nic told her. "And I'm not just saying that because of you being pregnant and him being with you anymore, but because if I leave this job, I'm done with the magazine for good. They already hate me down here."

"That's ridiculous," Monica said. "Vince says you're amazing at what you do. Well, as an editor, anyways. And look, I can't change the fact that I'm pregnant, because that was never supposed to happen, but you can change the fact that he's so morbidly depressed right now."

"I told you," Nic snapped. "I can't leave. So why don't you take your pregnant self back to the airport or train station or wherever you came from and leave me alone?"

Monica stood up silently. "Fine. You're not hurting me by staying here; you're hurting him." She started to walk away.

"Monica!" Nic called after her. "Tell him...I'm sorry. Just tell Spied that I'm sorry."

"Sure," Monica smiled, going to her rented BMW.

"Are you alright?" Natalia asked Nic when she got back to the shoot. "You look like someone just ran over your dog."

Nic smirked. "Then how I look reciprocates how I feel."


	12. Chapter 11

**So when I first started posting this chapter, I didn't think anything really important happened until I realized this is 11 and 12 is the biggie. And for everyone who's been feeling badly for Monica, she does something in this chapter that's slightly stupid and not so cool. But, the results will make people happy, I think.**

"I'm tired," Spiederman sighed a couple weeks later as he and Jude sat in the G-Major lobby, waiting on Tommy to finish up with Mason in studio B. "I'm just tired. Monica's getting sick all the time, Elise is there more and more, and I feel like I'm just suffocating."

Jude smiled. "Yeah, morning sickness sucks and parents get annoying. But, you'll get a beautiful baby out of it in four months."

"Yay," he replied dryly, closing his eyes. "I don't do well with kids."

"Mine adore you," she pointed out. "I mean, it was between you and Jamie for Sophie's Godfather and after meeting you, she begged."

He laughed. "I won't do well with my own kids. Like, with yours, I like 'em when they're good and fun, but when Lex starts crying, or even Isabelle, I can dump them off on you guys. Mine will get dumped back onto me."

"You ready?" Tommy asked, leading Mason out. "Cowboy's second album is finished."

"Yay!" Jude squealed, jumping up to hug her friend tightly. "Just hope your ballad quota is filled."

Tommy smirked. "Very funny."

"Wanna go out and celebrate?" Jude suggested. "Us four go out to dinner?"

"I'm in," Spiederman agreed. "Monica's probably cooking at home, but uhh, I don't care."

Mason shrugged. "I'm free."

"Cause you have no life," Jude added, dodging a slap in the arm. "Come on, Mase, when's the last time you went on a date?"

"I'm picky," he said simply. "That's all."

"And we don't know many gay men," Tommy put in. "No offense."

"No, I know," Mason agreed. "I don't. And I'm still not comfortable putting myself out there for the whole world, so it's hard, I guess."

They all rode to Daley's in Tommy's Range Rover, leaving Mason's truck and Spiederman's Jeep at the studio. On the ride there, Spiederman's phone rang.

"Yeah?" he answered, noticing it was Monica.

"Are you going to be home soon?" she wondered. "I'm making spaghetti."

"Well, don't," he told her. "Mason finished his second album so me, him, Jude, and Tommy are going out to Daley's for dinner."

She sighed. "Oh, okay. Well, when you get home, we desperately need to talk because I have something important to tell you."

"Fine," he said. "I'll be home later." He hung up and put his Sidekick into his pocket. "She's got something important to tell me. Hopefully it's that she's not pregnant and she just got fat."

Jude laughed. "Don't get your hopes up. You guys just found out that it's a boy."

"Goody," he smirked. "And she wants to name him Christian. Seriously, Christian Spiederman? That sounds horrible."

"Yeah, it's bad," Tommy nodded. "What do you like?"

"Umm, I don't know," he shrugged. "Picking names is the girl's job and I just have to agree. And in this case, I don't."

Jude saw the distant look in her best friend's eyes. "Spied, are you unhappy?"

"What?" he asked. "That's out of left field."

"You just look unhappy _all_ the time now and it makes me sad," she told him.

He looked out his window. "I don't know," he admitted honestly. "I guess it's been a rough month for me, you know? But, I've realized that I need to finally move on, so I am." He  
paused, as if unsure. "Well, I can try."

Their night at Daley's was fun and drama-free. Spiederman didn't once think about what Monica had to tell him and he remembered that he could have a good time without all the problems in his life.

"Hey, I'm home!" he called out later when he got to the loft around midnight. "Are you still awake?"

"In the living room," Monica said quietly. "We need to talk."

He found her and sat down on the recliner. "What's up?"

"This is probably going to make you mad," she explained. "But you have to know. Okay, so I think it's quite obvious that no matter what happens, my parents aren't very fond of you."

"To say the least," he put in. "Go on."

"Well, no matter what, I still am always going to try to please them," she continued. "And last week, during your 48-hour recording spree, they asked me to take a paternity test, and  
I get the results tomorrow."

He stared at her. "Even I know those are dangerous. What were you thinking?!"

"I think they're looking for anyway to get rid of you," she mumbled. "And I did it to prove that they're gonna have to get used to you because you're not going anywhere. And I  
promise, the baby is fine, the doctor swore on it."

"I can't believe this," he breathed. "I'm going to bed and you can sleep in the guest room tonight while I simmer." He stood up, walked to their room, and slammed the door.

The next morning, Jude and Tommy woke up and realized that the girls had spent the night with Maria, leaving the penthouse all to them.

"No kids," she said happily, holding onto him tightly. "It's blissful."

"It is," he agreed, kissing the top of her gorgeous blonde head. "And she's taking them to the zoo today, so it's all us."

Jude sighed peacefully. "Not that I don't love them, but they're tiring."

"Cause they're little girls," he reminded her. "They need constant attention." He smirked. "Just like their mother."

"Hey!" she cried, hitting him over the head with a small pillow. "I resent that, thank you very much."

"But I love you," he assured her, leaning his head down to kiss her softly. "And if we don't get out of bed all day, I'm okay with that."

"Me, too!" she squealed, pulling the covers up over their heads.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang.

"Don't," he warned. "It'll be Darius, telling you to come in today."

Jude poked her head out and looked at the LCD screen, flashing a picture of Spiederman's butt. "It's Spied, probably calling to whine about Monica." She threw the phone under their bed and went back to her husband.

Spiederman sat away from Monica and her parents in the waiting room at the doctor's office, mad that Jude still wasn't answering her phone, even this late in the afternoon. He needed advice about what to do cause he was still so angry that Monica had gone behind his back to do this.

"Robbins?" a nurse called, opening the door that led to the examining rooms.

"Ready?" Monica asked him as they followed her back. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Then why are we here?" he demanded. "I still think you're retarded for this."

"Now, when we ran the test, you were 100 sure the baby was his, correct?" Dr. Morgan asked, looking at the results on her clipboard.

"Yes," Monica nodded firmly. "I am."

Dr. Morgan sighed. "Well, my dear, I hate to tell you this, but I hope you weren't banking on that."

"Pardon?" Monica said weakly. "What are you talking about?"

"The DNA doesn't match," the doctor explained. "We can't be sure of who the father is, but it certainly isn't this young man."

Spiederman stared. "I can't believe this."

"No!" Monica cried. "That can't be right. It has to be his!" Just as she said that, she stopped, as if remembering something. "Oh."

Elise looked at her daughter. "Monica, what's going on?"

"Crap," she muttered. "The night of the non-wedding, as I hear it's now called, I went to the Blue Note and met up with Justin Reed."

"Oh, Justin!" Elise cried. "Please tell me this is his baby."

"Can you shut up so she can tell me why she trapped me for the last month?" Spiederman demanded.

"Anyways, we both got a little drunk that night and I slept with him," Monica continued. "Vince, I'm so sorry. swear, I thought this baby was yours."

He shook his head and stormed out of the building and stopped at his Jeep.

"Vince, wait!" she called, chasing after him. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know!" he yelled. "I'm in shock right now! How did you just forget about this Justin guy?"

Monica shrugged in defeat. "I guess I wanted to believe it was yours and I did. I mean, it was completely plausible, you know? We were together for almost 15 months." She looked at him and saw the sadness. "Go."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. "Your first thought when Dr. Morgan said it wasn't yours was her; I'm not stupid. Just go get her back."

Spiederman saw that genuine look in her eyes. "You're serious, aren't you?"

She pushed him to the driver's side door. "Go. You can thank me for this later."


	13. Chapter 12

**Yay, here it is- chapter 12! I love it and I really love both reunion scenes. One's cute, the other is funny. Anyways, I hope you all like it, too.**

After watching _Miss Congeniality _at 1:30, Nic was just falling asleep when her bedroom door burst open and the light flipped on. "Allen, I'm sleeping, let me go."

"It's not mine," a familiar male voice proclaimed. "Monica's baby isn't mine."

Nic didn't move, but her eyes popped open and she felt her entire body freeze. "What?" she whispered.

"Will you look at me?" Spiederman pleaded. "Nic, please? This is important."

"Alright," she mumbled, sitting up to look at him. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days, his hair was messier than usual, and his clothes were frazzled. "How did you find this  
out?"

He sat down on the edge of her bed. "Well, it's not a secret that George and Elise hate me, so behind my back, they forced Monica to participate in a highly dangerous paternity test  
last week, trying to find some possible way that the baby, which we found out two days ago is a boy, wasn't mine. Anyways, this afternoon, or yesterday, or whatever time it is, she decides to tell me about it, right before the appointment to hear the results. Anyways, I ride along and we get there and the doctor tells us that the DNA doesn't match."

"What?" she said, trying to absorb all the information. "That's not possible."

"Apparently, Perfect Monica, on the night I stood her up, went to The Blue Note and met up with an old friend of the family, Justin Reed, and after a couple of shots, they ended up at his place. Turns out, the baby is his and I'm home free," he explained.

Nic took a deep breath and leaned back against her headboard. "Why are you here?"

"I literally heard the news, took a cab to the airport, and flew here, and by the way, this house is forever away from that airport," he told her. "Nic, you were the only person I wanted to see; you're the only girl I want to wake up to and the only girl I want to go to bed with."

She smiled. "And how should I respond to that?"

"By coming back with me," he answered, as if he'd been planning it. "To Toronto."

The following morning, Wally and Kyle stood in the lobby of G-Major, waiting impatiently for Spiederman. He was over an hour late and they were tired.

"Where's your boy?" Darius demanded, marching out of his office. "He's late, even by Spiederman standards."

"We know, dude," Wally sighed. "Guess we'll go find him."

Twenty minutes later, the two boys let themselves into the loft, only to find it half empty.

"Monica's stuff's gone," Kyle noted. "Spied!" he yelled out.

"Let's check his room," Wally suggested, leading Kyle to the bedroom.

Inside, instead of finding their front man, they found a brunette girl in his bed, wearing what looked to be a skimpy black bra; her lower body was covered by the blanket, but they could assume there wasn't much.

"That definitely isn't Fat Monica," Wally whispered frantically. "What should we do? I don't see him and the shower isn't running."

Kyle shrugged nervously. "I don't know. I say we call Jude and Tommy; they'll know how to handle this better."

When Jude and Tommy showed up, Wally and Kyle were still quietly whispering in the bedroom, guessing who the mystery girl was.

"How can he do this to Nic?" Tommy demanded harshly. "He went back to Monica for her and yet, here he is, sleeping with some random chick!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Jude advised. "Maybe it's a cousin, whom the three of us have never met," she went on, referring to her and the boys in SME, "that he let sleep in his  
bed while he slept on the couch."

"And maybe you should take some medication," Tommy shot back. "My baby sister is down in Montana, just barely going through the motions, and he's up here, sleeping with some  
woman who isn't even the woman he's supposed to be with!"

Nic, who was awake under the pillow, fought to shake with laughter.

"Whoever she is, she's got a nice bod," Kyle noted, checking her out.

"Kyle, not now!" Tommy shouted. "I could choke that stupid kid to death for this! How dare he?"

Jude ran a hand through her blonde hair. "Why don't we just wait until Spied gets back from wherever he is and he can explain?"

"No, I think I'll sit here and wait until this tramp wakes up and I'll ask her what she even knows about him," Tommy snapped, leaning against Spiederman's dresser. "Probably nothing; she's probably just some girl he met in passing, realized he's famous, got him drunk, and took him home."

Under the pillow, Nic was crying cause she was silently laughing so hard. And yet, it was nice to know that even when she wasn't around, Tommy still defended her.

"Her name is probably something disgusting, like Mercedes or-," he began, ranting again.

"Portia," Wally laughed. "That's a total stripper name."

Jude smiled. "It's a Mills family name."

"But when I married her, I have a buddy in Montana who asked me if I met her on a pole," Tommy added, laughing a little bit. "That might've been the highlight at that marriage."

"And what's the highlight of _this_ marriage?" Jude mused. "Waking up to my beautiful face everyday?"

Tommy rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the mystery girl, who they still hadn't realized was his sister. "When the highlight finally comes, I'll let you know."

"Jerk!" she gasped, throwing a rolled up pair of socks at her husband. "You're lucky we're still even married."

"Can we not fight about our marriage, which we know is absolutely perfect, right now?" he demanded. "I'm just waiting for Paris Hilton here to wake up."

For Nic, that was the final straw; it was one thing to be referred to as a stripper or a hooker, but Paris Hilton? That was not going to fly.

"If this is the Welcome Home committee, I'd like to speak with someone on the board," she announced, sitting up, covering herself with the black sheet. "Cause honestly, you guys suck."

"Nic!" Tommy cried, standing up straight. "What are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow suggestively. "What does it look like I'm doing here?"

"Yeah, best friend here could've lived without that," Kyle smirked. "And, could you answer his question the way it was meant to be answered?"

"I can," Spiederman spoke up from behind them, holding two cups of coffee and a box of doughnuts from the bakery down the street. "It's simple, really."

"I need to sit down," Jude muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed. "When I saw you yesterday, you were 'with' Monica and Nic was _in_ Montana."

"Well, dude, if you'd let me go on, you'd hear the story," Spiederman told her, putting the food on the night stand. "I found out yesterday that, behind my back, George and Elise Robbins had administered a paternity test on the baby, looking for any way that the baby wasn't mine. Turns out, they won, cause it's not."

"Huh?" Kyle choked. "Immaculate conception?"

"Ha!" Nic laughed out. "No, no 21st-century Virgin Mary's here. Apparently, according to Spied, she just remembered _yesterday_, that on the night of the never-happened-wedding, she slept with some Justin guy and he's her baby's daddy."

"Justin?" Wally repeated incredulously. "As in, Justin Reed? Well, that's ironic."

"Why do you say that?" Spiederman asked, joining Nic in the bed, kicking off his shoes. Wally shook his head in amazement. "George and Elise have been trying to hook Monica  
and Justin up for years, so the fact that they're having a baby is just hi-larious."

"So what does this mean for you two?" Jude interrupted, not caring about the minor details.

Nic looked at Spiederman and pulled her hand out, revealing that she was once again

wearing her engagement ring on her left hand, instead of her right, where it had been for three weeks. "I guess I'm still gonna marry this clown."

"In a month," he added. "No more sitting back and waiting, we're just doing it."

"Yay!" Jude squealed, tackling them both. "What kind of wedding? Big, or small, or Justice of the Peace?"

"Well, we have more news," Nic stated, leaning against her fiancé. "I'm gonna be fat here soon."

Tommy felt his heart rate speed up. "Tell me you're kidding?"

"How often do I lie?" Nic asked him seriously.

"Never," Kyle answered. "Oh, my God, you guys are having a baby?"

"I'm about three months along," she nodded. "I only found out a couple of days ago."

"Boy or girl?" Wally wanted to know.

Spiederman shrugged. "We don't find out for two more months, but since Monica's having a boy, I'm praying for a girl."

"And Kyle, since I can already see you plotting to set up birth date pools in your head, don't," Nic warned. "I know you too well."

Kyle put his head down shamefully. "Busted."

"Dude," Wally shook his head. "You're already betting on your two best friends' baby? That's low."

"It is," Kyle agreed. "And I'm sorry."

"Back to the wedding," Jude said, holding up a hand to stop Kyle from talking. "Can it be big?"

"Judy, do you remember the lunch we had when I first came back in December and I told you that I basically had a wedding planned for every season, cause that plays an important  
factor?" Nic asked. "Well, that includes summer, and I'm still fitting into size 2 things, so it'll be quite nice."

"Now, if you guys don't mind, it's been a very long 24-hours for us, so if you could go and let us sleep, we'll have a big dinner for everyone tonight," Spiederman offered.

"We will?" Nic asked. "Where?"

He looked around. "Yeah, I'm not comfortable here anymore, so, since I never got around to selling your apartment, how about there?"

"We'll be there at 8:00," Jude agreed, leading Tommy, Wally, and Kyle away from the room. "And no take-out!"

"Is pizza considered take-out?" Nic whispered as the two of them slid back under his feather down-comforter for a few more hours of peaceful sleep.


	14. Chapter 13

**Good Lord, it has taken FOREVER to update this dang thing! Thanks to Destany Mitchell for the help. Anyways, now that I know how to update, I'll do so more often. It's been killing me. Anyways, onto the story...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Later that night, after taking some of his stuff back to Nic's original apartment, where much of her stuff still was, they set up the dining room table to host Jude, Tommy, Kyle, Wally, Jessica, Sadie, Kwest, Jamie, Patsy, Mason, Darius, and Portia for a dinner of pizza, store-bought lasagna, and frozen cheese bread.

"Yummy," Jude smirked when she and Tommy arrived. "At least it's not Thai or Korean," she sighed, kicking off her sandals. "Can I help with anything?"

"Sure, you can get the paper plates from the pantry," Nic laughed, putting out the plastic cups. "And remind everyone when they get here that they have to write their names on cups because we have just enough and throwing them away means they get nothing else to drink."

"You seem really prepared," Tommy teased.

Nic stared at him pointedly. "I haven't been here in almost four weeks, I spent the entire day on the phone with Joe, trying to save my job, all while Spied went to break all the news to his parents, alone, cause I couldn't get away. Plus, I'm pregnant, so don't mess with me, okay?"

"How's the job situation?" Jude muttered, digging through the junk drawer for a Sharpie.

"Done with," Nic answered simply. "No more Chronicle for this girl."

"You were fired?" Tommy assumed.

"I quit," she corrected. "He said if I were to come here, since I always say I'm staying in one place but never do, I'd be a plain old staff writer, doing boring fluff pieces, and I don't do that, so I walked."

Spiederman walked in then, carrying the five boxes of pizza that had just arrived. "It's not like she needs to work for money or anything, and she hated that job. She's too good of a writer to work as an editor, so now, while she's got all this downtime before the baby comes, she can work on the book that never got out."

"I'm actually already formulating an idea," Nic explained.

"Do tell," Jude pressured, sitting on the counter.

"Nothing is set in stone, and I've just been working on character and plot developments, but it's gonna be revolved around this guy, Charlie, who is the lead guitarist for a hugely popular band, The Stereotype. While the other members of his band are incredibly obnoxious and rambunctious and always in the news, people don't really know anything about him. So, a tabloid sends their gorgeous reporter, Hayley, undercover, to seduce and date him, getting the inside scoop on his personal life to turn into a story. Obviously, Charlie finds out, but in dramatic way, and everything from there hits the fan, completely."

"So how will it end?" Tommy wondered. He rarely read anything other than the newspaper or _Rolling Stone_ or _Spin_, but since it was his sister, and he was slightly intrigued by the storyline, he wanted to know more. "Does he forgive her?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased. "I guess you'll just have to read the book, huh?"

"Beyotch," Jude whined, just as someone buzzed from downstairs.

"Tell 'em to come up," Nic told Tommy, who was closest to the box near the door.

"So, what happened to your direction?" Jude demanded. "At least tell me that; I mean, you were set to blow the literary world to pieces with that other novel, but this sounds more like gossipy, scandalous stuff."

Nic shrugged. "People say you should write what you know. While I know what it's like to grow up rich and whatever, neither Tommy nor I were ever kicked out of our family, so the original Trent Buchanan story never would've been what it should've been. But, I do know a thing or two about tabloids, thanks to you all, so I think I can spin that a little better."

"Well, well, well, my favorite full-blooded Quincy is back in town," Darius announced, walking into the apartment with Portia. "It's about time, too."

"He added 'full-blooded' cause I'm technically his favorite Quincy," Jude called out smugly. "Tommy doesn't even rank."

"I can really feel the love in the room," Tommy said dryly, walking to the living room. "If anyone needs me, I'll be watching baseball, where no one cares if you're the favorite in the family."

Twenty minutes later, after everyone had arrived, they were all seated around the table, ready for Spiederman and Nic to re-tell their story. Once they'd finished, Jude was prepared to ask the questions she'd been thinking about all day, concerning the baby and most importantly, the wedding.

"Where's it gonna be?" she asked. "St. Andrews?"

"No, Mandalay Hall," Nic corrected. "It was another phone call I made today."

"Mandalay Hall?" Portia repeated. "That place is booked through like, next October."

Nic smirked. "Not when his name and my credit card are attached."

"Snobs," Wally muttered under his breath. "You think you're so cool cause you have like, a lot of money."

"Wallace, darling, I never think I'm cool," Nic shook her head. "I know I am."

"If there's anything that runs in the Quincy DNA pool, it's egoism," Mason laughed, refilling his cup with Dr. Pepper. "But at least when Nic shows it, it's cute."

"Watch it, cowpoke," Spiederman joked. "You keep your hands off my woman."

Mason eyed him. "I don't think I'm gonna be a threat."

"I don't know, Mase," Nic shrugged confidently. "I think I could be hot enough to turn you straight someday."

"While I admit that you're absolutely gorgeous, doll face, don't count on it," he laughed. "Besides, I'm sorta seeing someone new, anyways."

"Shut up!" Jude squealed, hitting her friend. "Who? And why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause we just weren't ready for people to know," Mason answered simply.

Sadie waved a hand in the air. "Well, now that you've brought it up, you must want us to know who it is, right?"

"He agreed that I could tell you all tonight," Mason nodded, looking at Tommy uncomfortably. "It's uhh, Chaz Blackburn."

Tommy could feel everyone in the room turn to look at him, their jaws completely unhinged. His ex-band mate, Chaz Blackburn, had been the biggest womanizer in Boyz Attack. He had new girls in his hotel rooms every night and had to have three cell phones to hold all their numbers. "I don't believe this," he finally said in a daze. "When did this happen?"

"It's been going on for a couple of months now, I guess," Mason explained. "He said that he was just really tired of using girls to cover his lie and he respected how secure I was about coming out, so he's planning to in the near future, too."

"Good for him," Nic said. "Every time I saw Chaz he tried to get my number, but I always gave him the number to a different county morgue."

Tommy smirked, remembering Chaz throw fits about it on their tour bus. "He hated you for that; probably still does."

"He loved me," Nic smiled cutely. "I'm the little sister he never had."

"And never wanted," Darius added. "But, Chaz is a good guy now, Mason, so you're in good hands."

"Eh, whatever," Nic laughed. "Chaz is a good guy, but a horrible cook. God, do you remember when he had that barbeque at his house and completely annihilated everything on the grill?"

"Thus the reason he usually lives on take-out," Portia nodded.

"Can we get back to the wedding?" Jude whined. "If it's in a month, we've got massive planning to do."

Nic shook her head. "Nope, we got a wedding planner. See, we're both gonna be really busy, with the band finishing the second album and I'm gonna start writing and working on moving us and all that jazz, so we don't have time."

"Moving?" Tommy repeated. "Where are you going to?"

"You know the Maxwell family, in the second penthouse, across from you guys?" Spiederman asked, taking his second slice of pizza from one of the boxes. "They told me a couple of days ago they were moving and told me to ask around if anyone was looking, and I remembered this morning and brought it up to Nic, so we're gonna talk to them tomorrow afternoon hopefully."

"We're gonna need something bigger," Nic shrugged. "Might as well get it over with now."

"Why do you need something bigger?" Kwest asked, stuffing nearly an entire piece of bread into his mouth. "It's just you two."

Sadie's entire face lit up at that moment. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" she asked excitedly. "When Jude called and told us to come over, she said you had 'things' to tell us, as in plural. Oh, my God! This is amazing!"

Nic smiled. She'd never wanted to have kids; not at all. While she'd always hated the princess-y rich girls she'd grown up with, she knew she was kinda one of them. Spoiled, a little self-absorbed, and much too pre-occupied for children. Then, she met Spiederman, who was a child himself, and though she still didn't think she wanted kids, her mind was changing. Now, after knowing she was having one, she couldn't have been happier.

"Any names picked out yet?" Jamie wanted to know. "I think 'James' sounds good."

"Pshh, no," Spiederman denied. "I grew up with a lame name and I refuse to let my child go through that."

"Your name isn't so bad," Nic assured him. "But we've come up with a few for each, just in case."

"Like what?" Portia asked politely, cutting her lasagna skillfully.

"Well, if it's a boy, we've narrowed it down to David, Jas, Beck, and Tyler; and for a girl we have Brit, Ryan, Gracie, and Whitley."

"Aww, I like Whitley," Jude put in. "And Brit's cute, too."

After a night of re-connecting with friends, Nic and Spiederman retired to the old red couch, putting _The Wedding Date_ into the DVD player.

"Glad to be back?" he whispered, pulling her close as the opening credits rolled.

"To be honest, I prefer Montana, but I guess this will suffice," she joked, kissing his cheek softly. "There's not one place I'd rather be right now than right here."

"What is this movie we're watching?" he asked, turning his attention to the TV, where Kat was meeting Nick for the first time on the plane.

"Basically, her little sister is getting married in London and her ex-fiancé is the best man, so since she can't show up alone like a loser, she pays to have this popular male escort pose as her boyfriend. Naturally, like all chick flicks, they fall in love and all that crap. It sounds predictable, which it is, but it's cute."

"Sounds like the exact formula for any typical chick flick," he sighed. "But, if you want to watch it, we can."

"Duh," she smirked smugly.

Nic and Spiederman fell asleep that way, together on the couch. When they woke up, he had to get ready for work and she needed to meet with their wedding planner to talk about starting with the minute details that she could handle on her own.

"So, will you be able to make it to lunch?" she asked him as she pulled on a pair of purposely ripped jeans and a white silk camisole. "I'm meeting Janine and if you can't make it, that's fine, I just have to know for reservations."

He let out a deep breath as he pulled on a Ramones t-shirt. "Uhh, can't you make the reservation for three and if I don't show up, just say something came up? Is that okay?"

"Yeah, they love us at Wyndemere, so it should be okay," she smiled, putting on a purple cropped Ralph Lauren jacket. "Besides, maybe we should wait to let you meet her cause if she's horrible, I'll tell her but you'd rationalize and give her a second chance. While in most cases, that would be okay, it's not here cause we're on a time schedule."

"Right," he nodded, pulling on his favorite ancient Air Max 90's. "Well, I gotta go, cause Portia mentioned a quick meeting last night about some interview, so I'm heading out." He kissed her quickly, grabbed the keys to his Jeep, and ran out.

"Spiederman, I received a phone call yesterday that surprised me to the extreme," Portia explained twenty minutes later as the two of them were seated in her cute little office.

"Who was it?" he asked. "Did my mom call here again? I told her to stop doing that."

She laughed. "It wasn't Lindsey; actually, it was Diane Sawyer's personal assistant."

"Diane Sawyer?" he repeated. "The big-time TV lady from the States? What does she want?"

"Apparently, your charisma down there is huge cause she wants to interview you for her Friday night slot," she reported excitedly. "And when I mentioned that you were back with Nic, she immediately said Diane wanted her in it, too."

Spiederman stared at the publicist in shock. Diane Sawyer was big, like, huge. She'd interviewed Keith Richards, Steven Tyler, and Johnny Cash. Being interviewed by her, in her Friday night slot, was monumental. "I gotta talk to Nic, but we'll probably do it."

Portia nodded to her phone. "Call her now cause Diane's plane lands at 6:40 and you're interviewing here at 8:15 cause I wasn't sure if your apartment would be ready to go."

"Alright," he sighed, dialing Nic's cell phone.

"Hey," she answered brightly, pouring herself a cup of orange juice. "What's up? Can you meet for lunch at 12:30?"

"Still don't know," he told her. "So, Portia told me about the interview."

"Oh, yeah?" Nic said. "What is it?"

"Diane Sawyer," he replied. "She wants to interview us tonight for her Friday night show! That's huge!"

Nic squealed. "Really, both of us? Me?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "We have to be at the studio by-," he looked at Portia who mouthed _'7:45,'_ "7:45 or so to go on at 8:15."

"Shut up " Nic cried. "I gotta find something to wear. I love you. Bye." She hung up and raced to her closet.

"We're in," Spiederman laughed, putting Portia's phone back on her receiver. "She's already picking out an outfit."

"I'm sure it'll be very in," Portia nodded. "Okay, well, that's all. I'll call you in sometime before you leave to talk about topics you will and won't discuss, but other than that, I'm done with you." 


	15. Chapter 14

**As per usual, I love the reviews and they keep me updating, but if I keep updating and halt writing, I'll never update cause I won't have anything. Anyways, hope all is good with everyone and I mean no offense to anyone named Danny or Morgan in this chapter; they're just not names I'm big on. **

At 12:25 Nic walked into Wyndemere and sat down in her usual booth, the one she and Spiederman had practically lived in before she'd gone to Montana, waiting to meet Janine  
Boyers, the wedding planner, to discuss everything so Nic could focus on other things.

"Nic Quincy?" a well-dressed middle aged woman asked politely, standing over Nic's table. "Hi, I'm Janine Boyers, from Boyers & Aylor Planning."

Nic stood up to greet her. "Hi, thanks so much for coming."

"Sure," Janine smiled, taking her seat. "You're quite lovely."

"Aww, thank you," Nic beamed. "I won't be in 5 months when I'm as fat as a whale, but I'm pregnant, so I suppose that's normal."

Janine grinned. "Oh, I think you'll be one of those cute pregnant woman, with the darling maternity clothes and still-flawless complexion."

"I love you already," Nic gushed. "So, I'm sorry my fiancé couldn't be here today, but he's busy at work."

The wedding planner nodded. "I completely understand. I Googled him before I came and I read that his band is working on their 'highly anticipated' second album, along with Jude Harrison's fourth, so it's quite alright he's not here today." She pulled a crisp leather bound folder from her Prada bag and laid it on the table in front of her. "So, you explained that you'd like a big, formal wedding and a completely free and exciting reception, yes?"

"Yeah," Nic nodded. "Most of our friends and family are pretty laid-back and mellow, so the reception is for them, but the ceremony itself is kinda for me, cause it's what my parents  
would've wanted and Spiederman's letting me do that, so it works out nicely."

"I see," Janine said, looking over some notes she'd already made. "Well, you've booked Mandalay Hall, and I'll be there all day tomorrow, so I need some sort of direction you'd like to go with a theme. Is it flower and lace, or simple and elegant?"

"I like traditional red roses," Nic reported. "No lace really, but I'd like to have satin cloth covering the altar and as the actual aisle. Umm, I'll be having a maid of honor and four  
bridesmaids, as he'll have his best man and then four ushers."

"Names?" Janine interrupted.

"Well, the maid, or matron of honor, I guess, will be Jude Harrison-Quincy, my sister-in-law," Nic started. "The best man is Wally Robbins. The bridesmaids are Sadie Taylor, Portia Mills, Jessica Vickers, and Kiley Walsh; the ushers are Kwest Taylor, Kyle Bateman, and Jamie Andrews. And then my brother, Tom Quincy, will walk me down and Jude, who will walk with our nieces, Sophie and Lex, will come back with him."

"Thank you," Janine said. "Now, for the reception, what kind of food would you like to have catered?"

"Actually, that's something we'll have to discuss with Spied," Nic laughed. "All things food, drink, and music need his input."

"Yes, that makes sense," Janine chuckled. "Do you have your dress?"

"I have ideas," Nic nodded. "I'm meeting with Portia, his label's publicist and stylist, some day this week to talk about it. I'll let you know when I have something."

"Good," Janine said, "because I like to have an idea of how to match things with the dress."

"I like that," Nic smiled. "That's a nice idea."

After another hour of plans, Nic left Wyndemere and headed to G-Major to hang out for the rest of the day, all while planning the Diane Sawyer interview in her head.

"Is that what you're wearing?" Tommy joked, approaching her as soon as she arrived. "Millions of people will see this, you know?"

"Funny," she smirked, slapping his arm lightly. "Where is everybody?"

"Chaz is here today and everyone is in hospitality, grilling him and Mason about their relationship," he answered.

She eyed her brother. "And why aren't you? I mean, don't you have questions for the great Chaz?"

"Called him this morning," Tommy replied smugly. "He may not be my best friend, but he's still a good friend, and he deserves to be respected, so I kept it private. Your fiancé, on the other hand, is ripping into him. And yet, Chaz always gets that last word in and it's always about you."

"Great," she muttered, heading in the direction of the room where laughter was erupting from. "Time to feed myself to the shark."

"Good luck " he called over his shoulder as he walked to his office.

The hospitality room was jammed packed with everyone from Kwest to Jamie, all circle around Mason and Chaz, each throwing questions left and right.

"Wait, wait, is that her?" Chaz Blackburn exclaimed, moving his head to see through the crowd. "Is little Nicy Quincy finally in the building?"

"Is little Chazy Blackburn finally out of the closet?" she shot back jokingly, making her way through the people to give him a hug. "You know, I always thought it was weird that you liked playing with my Barbie's, but I guess I always thought you were checking out their plastic anatomy."

"Ha ha, very funny," he said dryly, patting her belly. "Little Miss Size Two is gonna be Little Miss Plus Size here in a few months, huh?"

"Looks like you already are," she teased, poking his stomach. "Putting on the pounds there, buddy?"

"Aww, the little sister I never had," he smirked. "And never really wanted," he added.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe you're going to be on Diane Sawyer," Jude said to Spiederman later that day as the two of them and Nic sat in Tommy's office, hiding from Darius so they wouldn't have to do anything. "I mean, I was last year with Tommy, and she loves us, so how can you two compare?"

"She probably only liked Tommy cause he's practically her age," Nic joked, putting her feet up on Tommy's coffee table. "And you spent the entire interview showing off pictures of Sophie and Lex when all anyone cared about was you starting on the fourth album."

Jude scoffed. "And why do you think she wants you guys?"

"Cause we have the star-crossed romance," Spiederman answered. "Duh."

"As if," Jude laughed. "People just wanna see you guys cause you're cute and Nic has no shame and will say anything."

"Guys, really?" Darius said, barging in unexpectedly. "There's work to be done, you know."

Spiederman sighed. "How do we always get caught?"

"Darius has hidden cameras all over the place," Nic joked. "It's like being on _Punk'd _without an annoying Ashton Kutcher jumping out at us."

"Not a big Kutcher fan?" Jude joked, knowing the answer. "I don't think anyone is these days. Not since the whole Demi Moore thing. But, I must admit, and so must you, that _Dude, Where's My Car?_ is a great movie."

"Yeah, it is," Spiederman nodded.

"I like _Just Married_ with Brittany Murphy," Nic put in. "And he was good in _Bobby_."

"Hey, Nic, you have a visitor," Julia, the receptionist, said as the three of them returned to the lobby. "She's a little obnoxious, no offense."

Before Nic could guess who it was, a familiar voice rang through the hair.

"So I guess it worked this time, huh?"

"Kiley!" Nic squealed, spinning around quickly. "What are you doing here? The wedding isn't for three more weeks."

The blonde girl, whose bottom layer of hair was black, scoffed. "Please. Like I could possibly let you plan this wedding without my help. I mean, Nic, I am a professional party planner."

"She's Montana's own Samantha Jones," Nic explained. All she got was blank stares. "Samantha Jones, from _Sex and the City_? She's the sex-crazed PR woman?"

"They're just playing dumb," Jude spoke up, holding out a hand to Kiley. "Hi, I'm Jude, Nic's sister-in-law."

Kiley smiled. "Kiley Walsh, Nic's best friend."

Kyle, who had just entered the room, heard that and cleared his throat. "Uhh, Nic?"

"Right," Nic nodded. "Kiley is my best Montana friend," she clarified.

"Uhh, Nic?" Kiley now cleared her throat. "I'm your what?"

"You've painted yourself into a corner, babe," Spiederman teased. "Good luck getting out of this one."

Nic sighed. "Can't you both be my best friends? I mean, it's easier for Kyle cause he's always here but Kiley's a girl and I can talk to her about things I wouldn't even mention to him."

"Like PMS and underwear," Kiley put in, causing Kyle's face to pale. "See? I totally win "

"On a technicality " he cried, finding his voice. "Can you talk to her about Spiederman, though? How much do you know about her fiancé?"

Kiley's face fell. "That's not fair. I don't live here."

"And I'm not a girl," he said. "So you don't win because you don't know all."

"Truce " Nic cried. "Guys, really, no more fighting."

"She's right," Spiederman agreed. "Kyle, we're in studio B today, so come on."

Kyle and Kiley had a stare down for another minute before he followed his guitarist away.

"What a tool," Kiley breathed. "How do you put up with him?"

"How do I put up with you?" Nic teased, bumping her friend playfully. "Kyle's a great guy if you get to know him."

Kiley smirked. "I'm sure the Nazis said the same thing about Hitler."

"Wow, comparing Kyle to Hitler?" Jude put in. "A little harsh, don't you think?"

"Hey, I don't even know the guy," Kiley shrugged, playing with her hair. "So, getting off the subject of the drummer boy, what's going on with this wedding?"

"Ask Janine," Nic shrugged. "She's our wedding planner."

"I should've known," Kiley shook her head. "Princess Nic does nothing by herself; not when she has the money to pay someone else."

"My sentiments exactly," Nic smirked. "We don't have time to plan a wedding. He's recording, I'm writing, we're moving, and I've gotta work on not getting fat."

Kiley scoffed. "You, fat? Please."

"Does she not know?" Jude whispered. "Didn't you find out in Montana?"

"Yeah, but I wanted Spied to know first," Nic explained. "Ki, brace yourself."

"You're scaring me," Kiley admitted.

Nic took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

"Shut up " Kiley squealed. "A baby? You? No "

"Yeah," Nic laughed. "Due in December."

"When do you find out if it's a girl or boy?" Kiley wanted to know. "And you will name her Kiley should it be a girl, right?"

Nic scoffed. "We can't find out until August, since I'm only two months along, but if it's a girl, I'm shooting for Brit and if it's a boy, probably Jas."

"Good names," Kiley nodded in approval. "Better than Morgan and Danny."

"Yeah, I can't believe Kendra named her twins like that," Nic agreed. "Those are horrible names."

"Wait, Kendra Reeves had kids?" Tommy asked, stepping into lobby. "That's way scarier than Nic and Spied reproducing. Didn't she let her dog drown in the pool once?"

"Indeed," Kiley nodded. "Tom Quincy, you look old."

"Kiley Walsh, you look lost from your corner," he teased back, pulling her into a hug. For as long as they'd known each other, which was close to 14 years, they'd gone back and forth like siblings. "How's life in the sticks?"

"Eh," she shrugged nonchalantly. "It's okay. I threw the governor's son's Bar Mitzvah last weekend and got some girl named Ashley Tisdale, who apparently is very popular among the tween set, to perform, so that was a success."

"She's in _High School Musical_," Jude explained. "If you tell Sophie that you met her, she'll demand an autograph."

"Where is Sophie?" Kiley asked. "I haven't seen her in three years; I miss that little brat."

"With her nanny," Tommy said. "Maria is fabulous. She keeps Sophie, Lex, and Isabelle all day whenever we need her to and they adore her."

Kiley looked to Nic. "Isabelle is his friend Kwest's daughter with Jude's sister Sadie, right?"

"I'm impressed," Tommy smirked. "You're all up on your G-Major game, huh?"

"Nic clued me in," she reported. "But she never mentioned that gray was definitely not your color." She leaned closer to him. "And I'm seeing quite a few on your head."

He pushed her away. "You're full of it, Walsh; I'm only 27."

"Almost 28," Nic put in. "Middle of June."

Before anyone could go on, Darius emerged from his office with Liam, holding a disc in his hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pride that I announce that Finally Stable, Jude Harrison's fourth album, is complete and ready for release."

Kiley clapped and watched in awe as the SME boys raced out of studio B to celebrate with everyone in the lobby. There was whooping, hollering, champagne being opened, and rambunctious applause as Jude glowed and made her rounds to thank everyone with Tommy at her side. She saw what kept Nic there; they were like a family unit, no matter how different they all were.

"It's done!" Nic squealed, pulling her sister-in-law into a tight hug. "What's set up for your release party?"

"I don't know," Jude sighed as the two girls sat down on the couch together. "Portia takes care of all of that and we all just show up. I assume I'll sing a few of the songs, talk to the press, and sign some autographs."

"Spiederman, Nic, I need you!" Portia yelled through all the commotion. "It's 5:30 now and your interview is in a couple of hours and Diane's assistant wants me to e-mail talkable topics so she'll know where she can and can't go."

Spiederman took Nic's hand and led her through the crowd to Portia and they settled into her office.

"Okay," Portia started, opening a new e-mail file, "she'll obviously want to talk about how you met. I assume that's fine?"

"Sure," Nic nodded. "It wasn't anything spectacular though."

"Ugh " he cried. "It was, too."

"Spied, the first time we met, I came to town and dropped the Sophie bomb," Nic reminded him. "If I recall correctly, you said I was a 'no good, lying, manipulative brat' who should've stayed where I came from. How romantic, huh?"

"Oh," he said sheepishly. "Can't we throw that out and talk about when we re-met when Tommy was in the hospital? That's when I fell in love."

Portia beamed at her desk. "That's cute; tell that story."

"Alright," Nic laughed. "I think the only thing I'd be uncomfortable for her to talk about would be my parents."

"Right," Portia said, writing that in the e-mail. "What about the Tra Malcolm story?"

Nic paused and pulled out her cell phone. "Let me call him and ask what he would think." She dialed his number.

"Go," Tra answered. "I'm in a hurry."

"Well, hello to you, too," Nic teased. "Listen, Spied and I are doing a Diane Sawyer interview tonight and she wants to know if she can give the exclusive on our fake engagement. Is that cool with you or a no-no?"

"I already told Kirsten about it, so go ahead," he agreed. "And last we talked, you were back in Montana?"

She smiled. "I know, but I'm in Toronto again, engaged to him, and pregnant. I'll invite you to the wedding and we'll talk. Clear your calendar for June 4th. Tell Kirsten, Danny, and Shawn, too. Bye, Tra," she added before hanging up. "He doesn't care."

"Good," Portia noted. "Now, how far shall we go with the Monica stuff?"

"As far as she wants," Spiederman answered. "I don't really care."

Nic looked at him. "Are you prepared to face George and Elise if Monica looks like the bad guy?"

"If I have a stiff drink in me first, sure I am," he shrugged jokingly. "I don't want her to look like the bad guy, but it's her interview, not mine."

After a few more minutes, Portia let them go and warned that if they weren't on time, Diane would interview Wally and Kyle instead.

"We'll be here," Nic assured her. "I promise."

By that time, the excitement of Jude's album finishing had worn off, until the release party anyways, and all that was left was Jude, Tommy, Kiley, and Kyle.

"Are you guys prepared?" Tommy asked, leading everyone outside to their cars. "Anything embarrassing about me going to come up?"

"Possibly," Nic responded. "We don't know exact questions, but I'll answer honestly, I assure you."

He frowned. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Very funny," she smirked. "Jude, I'll see you later."

"So, I'm gonna head back to my hotel," Kiley announced, hugging Nic and kissing her cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Nic agreed. "Where are you staying?"

Kiley pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of her frayed jean skirt. "Uhh, the Hanover?" She looked around. "What are the chances of me catching a cab around here?"

"Kyle will take you!" Nic cried. "It's on the way to his apartment."

"Goody," Kiley muttered. "Cause my first impression of him was so fabulous."

"You don't even know him," Nic whispered to her friend. "Take a little time and get to know the guy, huh?"

"Whatever," Kiley sighed. "So, which car is yours? The Bentley?"

Kyle scoffed. "Please. That's Darius' car." He pointed over his shoulder to his bike. "I ride the Harley."

"You expect me to put a helmet on my hair to ride that?" she asked skeptically. "Nic, can't you guys just take me?"

"Can't," Nic said. "We've, uhh, got a lot to do before the Diane Sawyer interview."

"Crap," Kiley whined, putting on the spare helmet that Kyle handed her. "Call me later," she added before climbing on and wrapping her arms around him. "Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?"

"I've done it a few times " he yelled over his shoulder as he sped off.

Spiederman laughed as he and Nic got into the Jeep. "There's an interesting pair." He looked over and saw the look of mischief in her eyes. "Oh, Nic, you're not planning on hooking  
them up, are you? I mean, you're the one who loves how he's not tied down. Why is that, exactly?"

"Selfish reasons," she shrugged. "If he meets a girl and settles, he won't be there whenever I need him. For now, he sleeps with random girls, but if I call him in the middle of the night, he comes. I like the stablity, I guess."

"Nic, he's gotta grow up sometime," he explained, pulling out of the G-Major backlot. "Wouldn't you rather it be with a friend?"

"Kiley?" she asked. "She's the female Kyle. I mean, she dated this guy, Charlie, in Montana for the sole reason that he was excessively wealthy and owned a lot of land. Her boyfriend list is as long as my shoe collection and she's proud of it. I doubt she'd throw it away for a boy she hated as soon as she met him." She smirked. "The only reason I forced them together because of their names, Kiley and Kyle. I think it's cute."

"You are such a girl," he teased, patting her leg. "A cute one, though, I'll give you that."


	16. Chapter 15

**Hallelujah, the updating thing is working again. So, here's the interview. The only Diane Sawyer segment I can vividly recall is Britney Spears in 2003, so I don't know much how her things go and I'm guessing. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing _Instant Star_, but I also don't own Diane Sawyer (that would be weird). I just borrowed her.**

They weren't at the apartment long really. Just long enough to unpack some of her things that had arrived by UPS that afternoon from Lydia and Allen and eat a couple of cheeseburgers he cooked while she decided on an outfit.

"Wow," he breathed when she emerged from their bedroom. "You look gorgeous."

Nic grinned. "Thanks." She looked down at her khaki Marc Jacobs Bermuda shorts, navy blue and white horizontally striped Ralph Lauren long-sleeved t-shirt, and long matching beads. "This is my nautical look, I suppose."

"It agrees with you," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Do you think I should change?" He was wearing ripped jeans, the vintage Ramones t-shirt from that morning, and Vans sneakers.

"No," she shook her head. "It's very you and very appealing." She smirked. "Maybe just to me, but my opinion is the only one that matters, yes?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded, kissing her softly. "I think we look like the perfect couple."

"I wouldn't push it," she joked. "There is no such thing as the 'perfect couple,' not even Jude and Tommy."

He made a face. "I would never say they're perfect; look at all the crap they had to go through."

At 7:40, they walked back into a well-lit G-Major and it was chaotic. Interns were working overtime, Portia was setting up the lobby, and Darius was laughing with Diane Sawyer herself, who had arrived early.

"Are you ready?" Portia demanded. "Diane's here and wants to start."

"Let's do this," Spiederman agreed.

Portia turned to the renowned anchor. "They're ready whenever you are, Diane."

"Thanks," Diane nodded, walking over to meet them. She would sit on a chair while they shared the couch. "It's so nice to meet you both," she told them warmly, shaking their hands.  
"You make a beautiful couple."

"We know," he shrugged. "We were born this cool."

Diane chuckled. "This should be fun."

"Ignore him," Nic advised. "He hasn't had a Red Bull in like, two hours, and it's showing."

"We can work with that," Diane assured them, nodding at the cameraman. "Okay, I think we're ready. Basically, what will is happen is that I'll start the segment talking about you guys and why I'm interviewing you. During my dialogue, we'll flash clips of you guys from various resources and then cut to the interview, so I won't introduce you to anyone here, okay?"

"Cool," Spiederman agreed.

"So, you guys met for the first time when Tommy, who is Nic's brother, proposed to Jude, whom the entire world knows, right?" Diane started as the cameras started rolling. "What  
was that like?"

Nic smirked, knowing the real story. "It was unexpected. At least it was for me. I came to town because Tommy had called me and said that he was going to propose to Jude and since my brother and I weren't as close as we'd been as little kids, he wanted me to come so we could rebuild our relationship. I never planned on building _this_ relationship," she explained, referring to her and Spiederman. "Anyways, right after proposing, Tommy was hit by a car and put into the hospital and even though we'd been at dinner together the night before, I didn't really meet him until we went to the gift shop for Jude the next morning."

Diane grinned. "Was it love at first sight?" she asked him.

"Look at her," he replied. "Wouldn't you fall in love at first sight? No, uhh, actually, I think it really was. I knew Tommy wouldn't like it, cause I was the universal screw-up in his  
mind, but Nic was so charismatic that I couldn't help myself. She was gorgeous and aloof and cynical and knew how to have a good time and went with what I threw out. She balanced me in a way I'd never been balanced."

"And how did Tommy react when he found out you guys were officially together?" Diane implored. "And Jude? Because I remember reading that she didn't like her band members to be in relationships."

"That's not true," Nic shook her head. "Wally's been with his girlfriend, Jessica, since their sophomore year of high school, so she's not opposed. If she had any problems with Spied and I, it was Tommy's influence. I grew up under him and he was always very protective of me and since Spied's always been like the village idiot, it was hard for him to see us together. But, it didn't take long for him to see how happy we were, either."

"What about other people? Any crazy encounters with exes or parents?" Diane went on.

"My parents like Nic way more than they like me," Spiederman laughed. "In fact, if it weren't for her, I'd probably have been ex-communicated years ago."

Nic smiled. "I first came here almost directly out of graduating Princeton a year early and in college, I never had steady boyfriends, so there were never any of those problems. I got some hate mail from his fans, but even that subsided after a couple of months."

Diane nodded somberly. "Speaking of a couple of months, you didn't stick around long the first time, did you, Nic?"

"Six months," Nic admitted. "And it wasn't that I didn't stick around, really; it was more, I couldn't _handle_ sticking around."

"And that led to the Paris runaway?" Diane assumed. "What happened there? I mean, one minute, you two were all over magazines and tabloids, looking like the perfect couple, and the next, you're in France and he's left hanging."

"That was a sticky situation," Spiederman spoke up. "She and I had been together for six months when I asked her to move in with me. I had just bought a loft and her lease on her  
apartment was ending, so I thought it was perfect timing. I was wrong."

"I've dealt with a lot in my life and I was afraid of rushing," Nic added. "So, instead of telling him that rationally, I used the infamous 'I'm a Quincy and we just run away' card and  
bolted. It was stupid and childish and I wish I'd never done it, but I did, so that's kinda that."

"And your return wasn't so welcomed, was it?" Diane laughed. "Cause everyone had moved on?"

"Well, I think Jude and Tommy were excited, and their girls, but he wasn't," Nic answered.

"That's not true!" he cut in. "Well, I wasn't so much excited as I was mystified. It was like, what's she doing back after all this time, you know? I had just proposed to Monica and we were doing a wedding at the end of December and two weeks before it, Nic shows up at our Goddaughter Sophie's dance recital and I just felt cornered."

"Oh, thanks," Nic smirked. "I only came to accomplish what I did: I got my boy back."

"When you returned to Toronto, you had recently broken up with Tra Malcolm," Diane read off of her note cards. "But you lied and told everyone here that not only were you still with him, but engaged. Why?"

Nic shrugged. "Why else? He was getting married, for real, in two weeks and I've always been a procrastinator, so I put things off and this time I couldn't, so instead of like, thinking it out, I threw out the first thing I could come up with. And it's definitely a story that I'm not ashamed of cause it makes me sound crazy and I'm really not crazy."

"Tell us," Diane prompted. "It's a story we know of, but not really any facts."

"Would you like to tell it?" Nic asked her fiancé. "Come to think of it, we've never really talked about it much."

He grinned. "We were at Sophie's performance of _The Nutcracker_ at Christmas when she pulled a Harry Winston ring out of her bag and said that he'd proposed to her while skiing with Shawn and Danny in Switzerland. At the time, I wasn't mad that she was engaged, but stupidly upset because she was name-dropping Shawn White and Danny Cass like it was nothing. It didn't really hit me until the next day when I saw her again at G-Major. Anyways, that night, Jude called Tra in Paris to ask if he could come here for an engagement party because Nic had announced that they were getting married at the first of the year. It was that phone call that Tra called Nic out and said they weren't even together anymore, let alone engaged. Naturally, Jude told Tommy and since he had already been woken up, Tra called to warn Nic that the jig was up. Unfortunately for the rest of us, Tra Malcolm's one of those nice guys, so he offered to come here and play it up, knowing that she loved me and wanted to make me jealous. It worked."

"You were jealous?" Diane assumed. "Why? You were engaged to a woman you claimed to love, right? What did it matter if Nic was with the pro snowboarder?"

He stared at her pointedly. "We were at my engagement party when Nic made her appearance with Tra and the entire room disappeared when I saw them. I thought, _'damn, I might  
actually lose her for good.'_ So, that was pretty much the climax of the Tra Malcolm deal. The next night, she and I ran into each other at a little park outside of town and the following morning, they were over. I think I realized then that maybe I was still in the running."

"And he was, right?" Diane looked at Nic. "I mean, you orchestrated the entire story to make him jealous but then gave him hope when you let Tra go, right?"

"Pretty much," Nic laughed. "I don't lie. I just don't. Ask anyone. Umm, it was time for me to make my play at him without any ties holding me back."

"But you had one," Diane noted. "Monica?"

"Monica," Nic repeated. "Yeah, I knew that would be a toughie."

Diane grinned. "Tell us about Monica."

Spiederman was silent. He wasn't sure if he wanted to point fingers at Monica, but he wanted the story told correctly. "I first met Monica Robbins, who is Wally's cousin, in the sixth  
grade at a school dance. Then, during my junior year, before I hooked up with Jude, I dated her for a couple of months but it was never anything spectacular. Cut to a few years later when Nic leaves and I spent the first seven months she was gone by myself, not really doing much of anything. Finally, in September, Wally and Jessica got me to go out to dinner with them and Monica one night and that's where things picked back up."

"What was the biggest difference between Nic and Monica?" Diane interrupted. "I mean, they seem so opposite, so how were you attracted to both?"

"Not sure," he shrugged. "Nic is assertive and outspoken and liberal and everything that Monica isn't. And maybe that's what originally hooked me. I mean, things with Nic didn't work out so maybe I needed something different? Whatever it was, it lasted for 15 months."

Diane nodded. "But in the back of your mind, were you always kind of thinking, _'I wonder what Nic is doing right now?'_ Was she always in your head?"

"Definitely," he answered. "I was with Monica nearly three times as long as I was with Nic and yet, I was so in love with Nic that there were times I couldn't focus on anything. But I  
never told Monica much about her because I didn't want any negativity in our seemingly perfect relationship. I mean, she knew that I had dated Nic and that things had been pretty serious, but that was all. It wasn't until Nic came back that Monica started to see just how serious it had been."

"I remember Wally telling me about my first day at G-Major when he and Monica went to get lunch, she immediately started asking questions about me," Nic explained. "Like, she  
demanded to know everything about our relationship."

"Did Monica dislike Nic?" Diane looked at Spiederman. "Was she jealous?"

"Yeah," he said. "But Monica doesn't talk bad about people, so instead of saying how much she hated her, she talked about how gorgeous Nic was and how funny and that she looked so much like Tommy and I knew that was her way of saying she didn't like Nic being in Toronto anymore than I did."

The reported stared at him intently. "Do you think that if Nic had never come back, that you'd be married to Monica?"

"Probably," he told her. "And don't get me wrong, I _did_ love Monica, but it's just not the same; it never was. Monica's a good girl, just not for me."

Diane was quiet. "And what about her baby?"

"Not mine," he answered honestly. He smirked at the look on Diane's face. "I know, it's crazy. I mean, I only found out a few days ago myself."

"What did you do when you heard?" Diane asked. "How did you hear?"

He sighed. "Monica's parents don't like me. At all. So, behind my back, they administered a paternity test, looking for any way to rid her of me. In the end, they won. And the first thing I did was catch a flight to Helena."

Over Diane's shoulder, watching the interview, Nic saw Portia smile brightly.

"I was going to bed," Nic explained. "And he burst into my room, telling me the baby wasn't his and that he wanted me to come back with him."

"That's not the best part!" Spiederman cried. "What's better is when Wally, Kyle, Jude, and Tommy found her sleeping, half-naked, in my loft, with no clue it was her."

"I'll bet that freaked your brother out," Diane addressed Nic. "Finding who he thought was a random girl in his bed, when you'd told him you'd go to let him be with Monica for the  
baby? Tell us about that."

Nic looked away, afraid she'd start crying. "It was, by far, the hardest decision I ever had to make."

"Why?" Diane asked. "You'd left him once before."

"True," Nic agreed, "but I'd never thought about it then; I just did it impulsively. With the Monica thing, I had to process everything I knew and what I expected to happen and what Ithought was best for the baby. It was premeditated the second time around. I don't like the thought of a child not having both parents and I couldn't let that happen. I mean, Jude's a perfectly good person, but she was 16 when her parents split and I think that it's just different with kids. I couldn't deal with thinking that this child could grow up hating me because I stole their father away from their mother, you know? I just couldn't do that."

"When she told you her plans, that she was going back to Montana, how did you react?" Diane asked Spiederman. "Were you upset?"

"Obviously," he replied. "I was losing the love of my life, again, and I couldn't change her mind to save my life. But then again, I understood why she couldn't stick around. I mean, if  
the tables were turned, and she'd been pregnant by Tra, I don't think I could've sat back and watched her raise a family with him. It was a lose-lose situation for us at that point."

Diane smiled. "But, you guys won in the end."

"We did," Nic agreed, looking at her fiancé. "It was worth it, definitely. I'm, uhh, not very in touch with my feelings or anything, cause my influence is Tommy, who wouldn't know a  
tear if it smacked him in the face, but I couldn't be happier that it worked out the way it did."

"And I was just told that you have some more news for us?" Diane continued. "About a possible new book for Nic and a new edition for the both of you?"

"I'm working on a new novel," Nic confirmed, dodging the baby bullet. "I haven't started it yet, and I'm still developing ideas and making storyline boards, but I like the direction it's heading in."

Spiederman couldn't help himself. "And Nic's pregnant."

"She is, huh?" Diane said happily. "Well, are we sure this one is yours?"

"Definitely," Nic promised. "I can swear on my father's grave."

"That means she's serious," Spiederman put in. "It's my baby and it had better be a girl."

"Why a girl?" Diane asked.

He shrugged. "Well, it seems like everyone around us has girls, so it fits, and Monica's having a boy."

"Now, let's move onto what everyone's waiting to hear about," Diane said. "When's the wedding?"

"June 4," Nic answered. "It's already being planned and it's gonna be fabulous."

"Now, will it be documented?" Diane implored. "I remember that when Jude and Tommy were married, they only allowed for _People _magazine to be there. Will you take a page from their book?"

Spiederman scoffed. "No offense, but Miss Sawyer, you're crazy. Nic and I are polar opposites of Jude and Tommy, if you hadn't noticed. A date for them is half an hour away from their kids, while a date for us is like, hot air ballooning- which we have yet to do, but will. We haven't talked about it much yet, but I'm sure various TV shows and publications will be around for the festivities cause we kind of like to brag."

"And that's a wrap," Diane cut in, smiling as she stood up. "I know it sounds like that ended on a weird note, but we'll edit it to end with a clip of Spiederman on stage at a concert for Musican last summer, saying good night."

Nic shook her hand and nudged her fiancé to do the same. "It was very nice to meet you."

"Oh, same here," Diane assured them. "Congratulations with the engagement and pregnancy and good luck in your future."

"Talk about a long night," Nic yawned as they drove home half an hour later. "I'm wiped."

"So am I," he agreed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," she answered.

"Shh!" he said quickly. "I was asking the baby."

"Thanks," she laughed dryly. "Do you really want a girl?"

Spiederman nodded. "Absolutely."

"Why?" she wondered. "Because Monica's having a boy?"

"No," he told her. "Because I'd much rather our baby look like you than like me."

"Aww," she smiled softly. "I only prefer a girl cause I'm not sure I can handle Baby Spiederman. Lex is a cake walk compared to that."

He rolled his eyes. "I was the perfect child."

"Then Ritalin worked wonders," she teased. "Your parents say you were a nightmare."

"I was rambunctious," he reasoned. "Teachers told me I was very creative and acting like an animal helped me to dispense of that creativity."

"So while I was studying Mozart and Voltaire, you were jumping out of trees and breaking all your bones?" she asked as he parked in the garage.

"You started studying Voltaire when you were a kid?" he said in disbelief. "I didn't even know who he was until I was 18. Actually, all I know is that he was French."

"He was an Enlightenment writer," she explained. "An essayist, philosopher. He was big into social reform and opposing Christian beliefs. He basically believed that people created God and there was no Jesus."

"Wow," he breathed.

"I know, right?" she laughed. "He was a nut."

"No," he shook his head as they got into the elevator. "You're, like, a genius."

Nic nudged him. "I'm only as smart as I choose to be, just like everyone else is. While you may not know your Enlightenment novelists, you know more about music than even Jamie  
and I always thought he knew everything."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, well, music comes to me like pretty much everything else comes to you- easily."

"Do you ever regret not going to university?" she asked, taking off her shoes once inside their apartment. "I mean, you still could if you ever wanted to."

"Monica wanted me to make something of my music career to become a teacher," he replied. "Maybe I'm naive about what me and the guys and Jude have, but I think we're in it for  
the long haul and I'm not ready to give it up yet, or anytime in the near future for that matter. And by the time I am ready to retire to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I'll be super rich, so who cares about school? I finished high school, _with_ honors, and I'm okay with that."

"As long as you're okay, I'm okay," she said, leaning in to kiss him. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Company?" he suggested.

"If you so choose?" she shrugged, walking back to their bedroom. "I'm not gonna complain and tell you no."

"Then I won't turn you down," he laughed, chasing after her. "You naked in a couple of months isn't gonna be so pretty."

"Oh, well, in that case, you can wait until I'm finished," she smirked, slamming the door in his face. "I love you!" she called out teasingly.


	17. Chapter 16

**Kind of a short chapter, but people have been wanting something involving Kyle, so here you go. I think it's funny. Don't get your hopes up, cause I'm sometimes too optimistic for my own good and with Prom being Saturday, I'm quite preoccupied, but MAYBE look for a one or twoshot soonishly. And that's a big maybe.**

The next morning, Nic woke up to someone banging on the front door.

"Oh, my God, that person has a death wish!" Spiederman mumbled, forcing a pillow over his head. "You get it and tell them to screw themselves."

"What if it's your mother?" she laughed, throwing back the covers to get up.

"I don't care!" he yelled out. "If she's here this early, she deserves to have nothing to do with our wedding!"

She gasped. "Vincent Adam Spiederman, you take that back!"

Instead of answering, he held up his middle finger and she saw that he laughed under the covers.

"You'll pay for that," she assured him, walking out to the front door. She looked through the peephole and rolled her eyes. "Yes, dear?"

"Open the freaking door!" Kiley demanded.

Nic pulled back and then allowed for her friend to storm in, throwing her bag onto the floor as she did. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"No, on the wrong side of Kyle!" Kiley yelled. "Somehow, last night, when he dropped me off, like a _gentleman_, he helped me inside to make sure I found my room cause the Hanover is so big and everything looks the same, and I guess we got drunk and I woke up 45 minutes ago and he was laying next to me, undressed."

"Shut up!" Nic cried. "Spied, get out here! Big news!"

After what seemed like an eternity, he appeared in the living room, wearing hot pink boxer shorts and his hair was standing on end. "If this doesn't involve Wally getting arrested for jaywalking, Jude and Tommy getting divorced, or Kyle breaking away from his 'nightly' routine, I'll have you murdered," he mumbled to his fiancé as he shuffled into the kitchen to  
make coffee.

"Oh, it definitely involves the last one," Nic told him excitedly, completely forgetting it was only 8:15 in the morning. "Guess what he did last night?"

Noticing Kiley for the first time, he looked at her and smirked. "You slept with him, didn't you?"

"That obvious?" Kiley whined, falling onto the couch. "God, I'm an idiot."

Nic smiled. "Not only did they sleep together, but he's _still_ there! Kyle is _never_ around the morning after." She eyed Spiederman. "Maybe she won't be another one-hit wonder?"

"A what?" Kiley demanded. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Kyle has a different girl every night," Spiederman explained. "He's not dirty or cheesy, he just lives up to the rock star persona. Anyways, we call the girls one-hit wonders cause they change so often."

"That's kind of repulsive," Kiley told them. "And completely degrading."

"Says the girl who stayed in a crappy relationship because the boy was rich," Nic added. "Besides, according to Forbes' last estimation, Kyle's worth what, $14 million?"

Kiley waved a finger in the air. "Whoop-dee-doo. Charlie was set to inherit $436 million. Kyle's got a ways to go to get there."

"Wow, and Wally thinks we're snobs," Spiederman remarked. "You just made Nic look like Mother Teresa."

"You don't even know me," Kiley said pointedly. "So don't judge."

"I go off what I know," he shrugged. "You come here yesterday, cause a scene in the lobby of my work place, patronize one of my best friends, sleep with him, and then continue  
tearing into him the next morning. Well, you're practically a saint."

Nic could see where this was going. "Ki, why don't you let me get dressed and we'll go out to breakfast, huh?"

"Fine," Kiley agreed. "I'll wait here."

"Well, where else would she wait?" Spiederman asked quietly, following Nic back to their bedroom. "You picked a winner with that one, babe."

"Don't," she said warningly. "Look, Kiley's not like us. Her parents divorced when she was a kid and that hardened her. She doesn't have $120 million dollars in the bank to toy with or penthouses in Toronto and chateaus in Paris. Money is tight for her and she feels like she'd gotta marry rich to be happy."

He frowned as he climbed back into bed. "No offense, but that's pathetic."

"Maybe so," she agreed, "but after years of telling her it's not worth it, she won't change, so I gave up."

"She's your friend," he sighed. "What time you think you'll be home and will Saint Kiley be with you?"

"No idea and no idea," she answered, pulling on a pair of jeans and a violet cotton tunic. "She doesn't know anyone in Canada, so I can't leave her hanging for the next few weeks."

"I know," he nodded. "Well, have fun and call me if it'll be later than noon cause that's probably when I'll roll into G."

Nic kissed his cheek, ruffled his hair, and went back to the living room, only to find Kiley sleeping soundly on the couch. "Well, there goes that plan," she shook her head, just as  
there was a soft knock at the door. "Apparently, people have forgotten that Spied and I enjoy our mornings."

"Hi," Kyle said briskly as soon as she opened the door. "Is Spied up? Can we talk?"

"He's in the process of going back to bed, but I'm okay," she told him.

"Oh," he muttered, noticing Kiley on the couch. "You already know then?"

Nic smirked. "Indeed I do," she confirmed. "Care to explain your side of the story?"

He led her to the guest room and sat down on the bed. "Definitely not what I expected to happen after our first impression." He scoffed. "I took her back to her hotel and helped her find her room cause I've had, uhh, past paramours stay at the Hanover and I know it's big and identical. Once inside, she offered me a drink for driving her and I accepted. Half an hour later, we were wasted, committed some possibly regretful acts, and then passed out. I woke up twenty minutes ago, naked, and she was gone."

"I'm impressed," Nic stated. "The girl woke up and bailed before you did. New record, eh? I mean, you're the king of 'nail and bail,' right?"

"You and your witty one-night stand jokes," he said dryly. "I didn't leave first because it's the worst hangover I've had since Spied's bachelor party for the non-wedding. My head feels like there's a jackhammer inside."

"Then stop drinking," she laughed. "While I'm pregnant, Spied's not drinking, so as my best friend, you shouldn't either."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, today I'm your best friend, huh? Is it Kiley's turn tomorrow?"

"Very funny," she said dryly. "So, with the Kiley situation, what are you going to do here? Pretend it never happened? Start something? Just move on?"

"Definitely not start something," he answered. "I mean, she'll go back to Montana after the wedding and I don't do relationships yet. So, friends would work for me."

"Ahh, but will it work for her?" she teased. "Cause Kiley was venting this morning and she was quite comical."

"Was she?" he laughed. "Did she say she hates me again? Cause she told me that, like, a hundred times last night."

Nic made a face. "Yeah, I so do not want to hear your little escapades okay? I don't like when they're random supermodels and I certainly don't like that it's such a good friend." She  
paused. "Well, I'd love for you two to really date, but I don't see that happening, so I'm not getting my hopes up."

"Good idea," he agreed, laying down on the bed. "Do you think I'll ever meet a girl who can live up to my standards? Or yours?"

"Yours? Yes," Nic assured him. "Mine? No. Kyle, you've been my best friend for over two years now and I couldn't bare to think of you with a girl who isn't good enough. And while all your little model friends are cute, they're just something to do while you pass the time. I just want you to meet someone who's going to make you happy."

"I know," he said. "It's just that, I'm only 21, so I feel like I have all the time in the world before I need to like, settle down."

She shrugged. "I'd tell you that's true, but life's unexpected, Ky. I mean, you might get to G-Major today, only to find out that you've been replaced in SME by like, Shay. Nothing is  
certain."

"Oh, I hate it when you do this," he complained.

"Do what?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Go all philosophical on me," he replied. "You sound like a genius and I look like I couldn't pass grade two."

Nic smirked. "I have a theory that teachers only passed you three boys so they wouldn't have to deal with you anymore. On your graduation day, every teacher you all ever had probably went out and got wasted in celebration."

"Nic?" Kiley called from the living room. "Are you ready to go yet?"

"Where are you guys going?" Kyle wondered, standing up and stretching. "Shopping to gossip about me?"

"No, we're going to brunch," she corrected before heading out the door. "We'll do our gossiping there."

When Spiederman officially woke up around 11:30 and showered, he found Kyle still in the apartment, playing on his XBox360 in the living room. "Uhh, hey, dude?"

"What up?" Kyle greeted, not taking his eyes off of the TV in front of him. "You going over to G?"

"I am," Spiederman confirmed, opening the fridge for a Red Bull. "Can I ask why you're in my apartment? I know I didn't let you in, unless I sleep walk, which I don't think I do."

"You don't," Kyle interrupted. "I've been here since Nic and Kiley went to brunch."

"Brunch?" Spiederman repeated. "I thought they were going to breakfast?"

Kyle shook his head. "No, Kiley was asleep on the couch when I got here and Nic and I talked for a while and then Kiley woke up and they left."

"Oh," Spiederman nodded, still not really following the story. "So, you and Kiley? How was that?"

"To be honest," Kyle began, pausing his game, "I didn't hate it."

The guitarist dropped the pudding cup he was preparing to open. "You're kidding? Kiley? She's a beyotch."

"She may be," Kyle nodded, "but her personality means nothing when she's not talking."

"Eww!" Spiederman said, throwing his spoon at Kyle. "Too much info there, dude."

"Hey, you questioned it," Kyle reminded him, turning off the game system. "Are you ready to go? I'll drive and Nic said she'll retrieve you later."


	18. Chapter 17

**I'm sorry there hasn't been a whole lot of Jommy lately, but wait two more chapters cause I drop a bomb. And next chapter is funny too. I bring in a group of new characters Tommy doesn't quite agree with. You'll see. Thanks, as always, to the reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, so please, don't sue me.**

G-Major that day was crazy. Portia was on the phone with magazines and TV shows about the release of Jude's album in the next few weeks, Darius was handling the distribution,  
Liam was trailing Darius, and everyone else was trying to avoid getting stomped on.

"Wow, I can really see a lot of work getting done here today," Jude laughed as she walked in at the same time as Spiederman and Kyle. "I'll bet we could blow this joint and  
neither Darius nor Liam would notice."

"Probably not," Spiederman said quickly. "Guess what Kyle did last night? Or, _who_, actually?"

Jude gaped at Kyle. "Another notch on the belt? And we know this one?"

"Somewhat," Kyle admitted. "I gave Kiley a ride home yesterday and she invited me up to her room for a drink to thank me for getting her to her hotel and one thing led to another, we got trashed, and I woke up in her bed, sans clothing."

"Shut up!" Jude squealed, hitting his arm. "You are a dog!"

"What did he do this time?" Tommy asked, joining them from his office. "Or who, should I ask?"

Jude smirked. "It seems as though Kyle has a thing for taking advantage of drunk country girls."

"Kiley, huh?" Tommy assumed, not looking up from the folder he was reading through. "Not a good idea, man. She's a wreck; always has been, always will be."

"We're not dating!" Kyle cried. "It was a one-time thing and will never happen again!"

Suddenly, Spiederman remembered something important. "Oh, Nic wanted me to tell everyone who's walking with who in the wedding." He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and found a folded piece of paper with Nic's loopy scrawl on it. "So, it'll be Jude walking down at first with Lex and Sophie on either side of her, then Wally and Kiley, followed by Kwest and Sadie, Jamie and Portia, and Kyle and Jessica. Tommy will escort Nic and then walk back with Jude."

Tommy shrugged. "Works for me. Did she say what song she and I are dancing to yet?"

Spiederman knew that she had but also knew it wasn't his place to tell. "Yeah, but you have to talk to her about it."

"Do you all know what your song is yet?" Jude asked, leading them all to the lobby where Wally was playing Solitaire as Patsy and Jamie listened to his iPod.

"I get to pick it," he announced smugly. "Of course, she'll have a backup if what I pick is something she hates, but since I know music, she gave me the honor."

"Any ideas?" Wally wondered, keeping his eyes on his game. "80's monster ballad?"

"See, I thought that," Spiederman laughed, "but it's not worth sleeping on the couch on my wedding night for, so I'll come up with something better."

Jude eyed him. "Nic's taking this wedding very seriously, so no screw ups, Spied, alright?"

"Aye, aye, captain," he joked, mock saluting her.

"Hey, guys, get to work!" Darius yelled. "Tommy and Jude, you need to be planning the _TRL _visit on Thursday and SME, you have a second album to finish now so you can tour come November!"

"So the tour is for sure on then?" Kyle asked Tommy. "Aww, Spied's leaving his wife right before the birth of his first child."

Spiederman's face fell. "Can she come?"

"Spied, the bus is bad enough with the four of us," Jude pointed out. "Add a very pregnant woman to that mix and it's not so fun." She smiled sympathetically. "Trust me, if we go in November and it lasts through February or March, Darius will give you time off to come home for a few days when she goes into labor. I'll demand that _I _get time off for the birth."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Tommy smirked. "Cause it's no skin off Darius' back to just cancel a few shows."

"He will for Nic and you know it," Jude replied. "He loves her like a daughter."

"Guys, seriously!" Darius barked before slamming the door to his office.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Alright, Jude, let's go decide what you're going to sing at MTV and then I'll meet you guys in A in half an hour," he explained to the band.

"Can I do 'Where It All Went Wrong,' please?" Jude requested. "It's kinda my favorite and it's the first song I've ever done that isn't directly related to me."

"You like it cause it had good inspiration," Spiederman told her. "Me."

"More like Monica," Jude said, "but yes, I do like it a lot."

"Fine, you can sing that," Tommy consented. "Guys, start going over lyrics for 'Save the Drama for Your Parole Officer' and I'll be in after we confirm with Darius."

"Your song titles are completely stupid," Patsy spoke up, pulling out the ear bud she was using. "I mean, do they make sense when you write them?"

Spiederman thought about all the songs on their first album and all the ones that were going onto the second. "Oh, 'Paris Ain't Calling' was written about Nic leaving, but the song really has nothing to do with that. Like, our songs mean stuff and our titles mean stuff, but they never match."

"Bums," she was heard muttering as she stalked off to find Kwest to work on a song she'd never finish.

"So, can you see yourself with Kyle?" Nic asked Kiley as the two of them slowly walked from the diner they'd eaten at to their cars. "I mean, I'm sure you'll go back to Montana, but what if you guys really hit it off in the next few weeks?"

"And what if my parents wake up tomorrow and decide to get back together?" Kiley shot back. "Since both are re-married to incompetent morons, I don't think that's happening, and neither is anything between me and Kyle."

Nic sighed and unlocked the doors of her Lexus. "Well, I'm gonna head over to the studio to hang out. Do you want to come?"

"Nah," Kiley denied. "I'm gonna head back to the hotel and conference in with the girl I put on a big party back home to see how things are going and fix all of her mistakes." She kissed Nic's cheek, climbed into her rented Saab convertible, and sped away.

"There she is!" Spiederman proclaimed through the lobby when Nic walked into G-Major fifteen minutes later. "In all her pregnant glory!"

"Is he drunk?" Nic whispered jokingly to Jamie, who was standing at the desk, talking on the phone. "Cause I swear I threw out all the Jack when he swore he'd abstain from drinking while I can't."

"They finished their second album," Jamie informed her. "He downed five Red Bulls in ten minutes; new record for him."

"You finished?" she said, addressing her fiancé. "Baby!" she cried, hurrying to jump into his arms. "That means less time here for a while and more with me."

"Hooray," he teased. "I'll get to witness your mood swings, cravings, and swelling first hand."

"Hey!" she pouted, pulling away. "You got me this way."

He smiled and took her back into her arms. "Nic, you know I'm joking with you." He kissed her softly. "Ooh, vanilla lip gloss?"

"Yeah, I knew you liked it," she shrugged. "Where's everyone else?"

Spiederman looked around the studio. "Well, James is at the desk, still on the phone, while Kyle is playing Euchre with Kwest, Jude, and Patsy in the conference room. Uhh, Tommy is discussing Jude's _TRL _appearance with Portia, and Wally is locked up in studio C, talking to Jessica on the phone cause she's on her first 48-hour shift at the hospital."

"Poor Jess," Nic sympathized. "I could never be a doctor. It's too much time away from home."

"Yeah, but she's really smart when it comes to all that science and body stuff, so it's pretty perfect for her," he said. "How was lunch with Kiley?"

"Brunch," she corrected, "and it was fine. We talked about the wedding, you, life back in Helena, and a little Kyle."

He smirked. "Does she hate Kyle still?"

"Disgustingly enough, she actually said that Kyle was not so bad," she reported. "And I don't mean that personality wise."

"Yeah, he said that, too," he nodded. "So maybe while she's in town, they'll be booty call buddies?"

She covered his mouth with her hand. "Ugh, no. Let's not go there."

"Good idea," he laughed. "So, we need to talk."

"That sounds daunting," she noted, sitting down with him on the couch. "What's up?"

"Do you remember when we were at the park that night in December, back before the non-wedding?" he asked.

Nic smiled. "Of course I do. Why?"

"Okay, so you remember me talking about the big tour Darius had been planning for us, Jude, and Mason then, right?" he continued.

"I do," she confirmed. "Go on."

"Well, it's officially being set up now that our album is done and so is Mason's," he told her quietly. "And it kicks off at Madison Square Garden on November 29."

Nic looked down at her hands. "So you'll be gone for the last two months of my pregnancy?"

"Well, that's what I was worried about, so I talked to Darius about it and he said that he'll schedule us three early shows and then postpone until early January so me, Jude, and Kyle can be around for the birth."

"Well, that's good, I guess," she muttered quietly. "And Tommy will be here if I need something, so I can put him to good use."

"Babe, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know this sucks but it is my job."

"No, I know," she assured him, taking his hands. "And I understand. Spied, I would never try to hold you back with your career."

"I know you wouldn't," he grinned, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Get a room," Tommy advised, walking out of Portia's office. "This is a work place, not your bedroom."

Spiederman smirked. "Trust me, you don't want to know what goes on in our bedroom."

"Vin," Tommy warned. "Seriously, that's enough."

"Ooh, someone's testy," Nic said. "What's eating you?"

He sighed and sat down on the chair across from them. "Portia said that MTV doesn't want me to go with Jude on Friday because I'll be a distraction to her. They want someone

people won't recognize, like you," he added, looking at his sister. "So I hope you don't have any plans for the weekend."

"Tommy, I'm planning my wedding," she reminded him. "I can't just up and leave for three days."

"I'll take care of wedding stuff," Spiederman jumped in. "I'll meet with uhh, Janine, and do food and drinks. Plus, I can tell her the wedding song I've chosen."

Nic's face lit up. "You picked a song? What is it?"

"Not telling," he teased. "You'll have to wait and see in three weeks."

"Jerk," she groaned. "So, I have to chaperone Jude to New York on Friday."

Tommy nodded. "Gotta check in at MTV by 2:00."

"Goody," she yawned, leaning on Spiederman's shoulder, closing her eyes. "I'm just gonna take a little nap and then I'll go talk to Portia about what I'm supposed to do."

"Well, you can nap, but I gotta go talk with Liam about finishing touches on the album," Spiederman informed, carefully standing up and laying her down on the pillow he'd been sitting on. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Be good and no talking in your sleep."

"I don't do that!" she yelled as he and Tommy walked away.


	19. Chapter 18

**So, I shouldn't be updating because this is the last full chapter I have written and I don't know when I'll get my next update up. Anyways, this chapter will introduce Funktion which should provide some laughs now and later in the story at the wedding, as well. Still no Jommy, but just wait.**

"Jude, I have some bad news," Tommy reported, letting himself into the conference room. "It's about _TRL_ and your song."

"I can't do 'Where It All Went Wrong,' can I?" she assumed, laying down a card. "It hasn't been a single like 'One Way Street' or 'Follow You' has."

"Pretty much," he said, sitting down next to her. "MTV wants 'One Way Street' cause it's summer and that's kind of a party anthem."

"Naturally," Jude sighed. "Well, that's fine. I'll wait until the release party and do 'Where It All Went Wrong' there."

"I love summer," Kwest said. "Barbeques, trips to the beach, and fireworks."

"Wow, you're gay," Patsy joked. "Summer always used to mean more bums come out to the dumpsters."

Kyle laughed. "Must be nice living in an actual house now, huh?" For the last two years, Patsy had been living with Jamie in an apartment across town.

"It's alright," she shrugged. "I miss the comradery we all shared, but I still hang out at the Chain a lot."

"Guys, it's been real, it's been fun, but since we lost, it hasn't been real fun, so I'm gonna go pick up my girls and head home," Jude announced, standing up. She opened the door and smirked. "Is that Nic sleeping on the couch?"

"Yeah," Tommy told her. "She had brunch with Kiley, which apparently wore her out, and she's napping before talking to Portia about going with you on Friday since I'm not wanted."

Jude looked at her husband. "What do you mean? They don't want you to come?"

"Nope," he answered. "I'm considered a distraction, so they want Nic."

"But people know who she is!" Jude whined. "She's engaged to who is said to be the hottest guitarist on the planet right now! She's gonna be on Diane Sawyer for crying out loud."

"That's what I said," he cut in. "And then Portia reminded me that their segment is on Friday _night_ and you'll be on Friday afternoon."

"Bummer," she mumbled. "Well, we can have a Quincy Women Weekend cause it'll probably be our last. In three weeks, she's gonna be Nicole Elaina Spiederman."

"That's weird," Tommy admitted. "I have vivid memories of my mother yelling 'Nicole Elaina Quincy, you stop teasing those girls,' when Nic was caught making fun of the snobs we spent summers with on Lake Erie."

"They're so happy," Jude pointed out. "And I'm so glad things finally fell into the place they were supposed to."

"They both deserve it," he agreed. "I mean, as much as I hate to admit this, they make a perfect couple."

Jude smiled. "Yeah, they do."

Nic woke up an hour later to find Darius looking down at her. "Nic, I love you, but take your napping elsewhere," he said, sitting down on the coffee table. "If you were so tired, you could've come to my office for privacy."

She stretched. "I was too tired to move at the time I fell asleep. Besides, you know how I like attention."

"Doesn't everyone," he teased. "So, are you all set for New York?"

Nic shook her head. "I fell asleep before I got the chance to talk to Portia, so I should probably go and do that, huh?"

"I would recommend it," he nodded. "She's planning a fun weekend for the two of you, with only two big stops at MTV and TV USA."

"You say only two _big_ stops and yet, it sounds like you've planned more," Nic mused.

Darius smiled. "Well, I don't think it would hurt to stop at the Virgin Megastore or be seen in a few boutiques on Fifth Avenue."

"D, it's me," she reminded him. "Shopping is my national pastime, so I can guarantee Fifth Avenue. Plus, she loves music so I'm sure Virgin will be fine, too."

He patted her knee and stood up. "That's what I like to hear. Now, go find Portia and then take your boy and get outta here."

"Yes, sir," she joked, hurrying off to find his sister.

"So, Spied, what did Nic say about the tour?" Jude asked as they lounged in studio B with Wally and Kyle, pretending to be working on new stuff already, even though her album was dropping in a week and theirs in three. She should've been going to get Lex and Sophie, but she'd changed her mind to stick around a little while longer. "Is she upset?"

"Nope," he answered, spinning in one of the chairs. "She said she understands and I told her it would only be a few shows in November and that we'd be back around the time she'd supposed to go into labor. Besides, Tommy's gonna be here and she loves nothing more than to boss him around, so it'll be fine."

Kyle chuckled. "That's true, she does love bossing Tommy around."

"Who doesn't?" Jude teased.

Half an hour later, after a briefing with Portia, Nic slowly walked towards studio B, only to find it was empty.

"Hey, Patsy, have you seen Spiederman?" she asked as Patsy passed her on her way out. "I could've sworn he was with the boys and Jude in here just a little bit ago."

Patsy pointed to the rehearsal room. "They're all in there now, laughing hysterically at something."

"Okay, thanks," Nic nodded, sliding back the door to the glass rehearsal room whose blinds were drawn. "Oh, my God."

Sitting against the wall, Jude, Wally, Kyle, and Spiederman were silently crying from laughing so hard as a real, live boy band rehearsed dance moves in front of them.

"What is this?" she asked quietly, sitting down on Kyle's left. "Has Darius lost his mind? Does he not remember how Boyz Attack crashed and burned? And these poor boys can't be older than 18."

"I think it's hilarious," Jude spoke up. "It's like watching what Tommy was like ten years ago."

"Trust me, it wasn't pretty then and it isn't pretty now," Nic assured her. "What did he say about all of this?"

Spiederman smirked. "He has no idea."

"Shut up!" Nic cried. "He's gonna lose it."

"The best part is, these guys are so pumped about meeting Little Tommy Q," Kyle explained. "And he's gonna be horror-stricken."

The song ended and the five boys stopped their routine, giving high fives and congratulating each other on a job well done.

"Wow, you're Jude Harrison," the blonde front man noticed. "I'm a huge fan."

Jude stood up and smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Umm, I'm sure you know who Wally, Spied, and Kyle are and this is Nic, my sister-in-law."

"I'm Aaron," the blonde introduced himself. "And this is Jared, Cameron, Danny, and Beck." His cocky gaze lingered on Nic momentarily. "You're pretty gorgeous."

"And pretty pregnant," Spiederman interrupted, pushing Kyle aside to stand next to Nic. "Jude forgot to mention that Nic's my fiancé, so back off, Timberlake."

"Down boy," Nic teased. "Aaron here doesn't look more than 16."

"I'll be 17 in three months," Aaron said quickly. "So, is Tom Quincy around?"

"Oh, he's around alright," Nic nodded, anticipating the moment Tommy would walk in more and more. "In fact, I'll go find him." She stood up and raced towards Tommy's office, letting herself in without knocking. "Hey. I need you to come with me for a minute."

"Nic, I'm busy," he murmured. "It'll have to wait."

She tapped her foot impatiently. "Tommy, trust me, you want to come now. If you wait, your anger for Darius will just increase."

"What's he done now?" Tommy sighed, standing up. "Let's go."

Nic smiled like a schoolgirl the entire way to the rehearsal room and stopped him just outside of it. "Okay, now you can't freak out because it will scare them and they're super excited to meet you."

"What's going on?" he demanded. "You're freaking me out." He slid open the door. "Oh, my God. Is this what I think it is?"

"They're name is Funktion and they're from Cincinnati, Ohio," Spiederman reported. "There's Jared, Cameron, Danny, and Beck."

Tommy nodded at Aaron. "Who's the Justin Timberlake wannabe?"

"Actually, he idolizes you, oddly enough," Jude teased, "and his name is Aaron. Spied left him out cause the child was hitting on Nic."

"Do you mean to tell me that Darius has authorized for G-Major to take on a boy band?" Tommy asked, finally seeing the Big Picture. "Has he lost his mind? Boy bands don't sell."

"Not true," Nic interrupted. "It's been a proven fact since the 70's that while it made fade, pop music _always_ makes a comeback. First, there was the Jackson Five, but they were tuned out by glam rock. Then, in the 80's, there was New Kids On the Block, but in the early 90's it faded as grunge took over. In 1997, the Spice Girls kicked off another pop faze, which led to Britney Spears, 'Nsync, Boyz Attack, and Jessica Simpson, but it's now been replaced by rap and punk rock. Pop music is due for a comeback and with Darius, Funktion just might be able to do it. Of course, they'll need their pop princess to help, but I have faith in these boys."

"Nic, shut up," Tommy told her. "You're mocking them and they don't even know it."

"I don't think she is," Spiederman put in. "Nic would never make fun of pop music, Squinty. Our wall of CD's is covered in Britney Spears, 'Nsync, Backstreet Boys, and Justin Timberlake. It's her thing."

Danny, the shy-looking member, stepped forward. "It's really nice to meet you, Mr. Quincy. I'm a huge fan and it's gonna be really hard to live up to what you once were."

"Mm-hmm," Tommy nodded. "Look, guys, it was nice meeting you but I've got an appointment with Darius." He headed for the door.

"He's on a conference call with our old manager!" Beck called.

Tommy turned and smirked. "Trust me, he'll definitely want to hear what I'm saying." He stormed through the lobby and without knocking on the door, burst into Darius' office. "Hang up the phone because we've got to talk."

"Let me call you back," Darius told the other end of the line, hanging up. "What's so important that you're barging in and interrupting phone calls?"

Tommy glared at him. "Who was on the other end, D?"

"A guy I know in Cincinnati," Darius shrugged. "What's it to you?"

"Would he happen to be the former manager of an up-and-coming boy band called Funktion?" Tommy asked coldly. "Funktion, the band who's rehearsing in the glass room?"

Darius' face fell. "You found them?"

"Darius, when I bolted from Boyz Attack without defacing your name, you _swore_ there would be bo more exploiting these boy bands! You turn them into little machines to do your  
bidding, make your money, and end up practically with nothing. Look at JP now! He's working as a paralegal in Manitoba because he never saw a dime. I'm lucky to have gotten out before you swindled all that money. Chaz, too."

"You're overreacting," Darius told him. "Take a seat and we'll talk about this."

Tommy sat down. "What's the plan for this one? A couple of pop hits, sold-out arena shows, a platinum record and then on to the next?"

"Pop music is due for a comeback," Darius reasoned. "Funktion can do it. I just need to find their pop princess."

"You're ridiculous," Tommy shook his head, just as an idea dawned on him. "I'll make you a deal."

"A deal?" Darius repeated. "What kind of deal?"

"I won't alert the media about what you did to Boyz Attack if I have half partnership in the management of Funktion," Tommy offered. "Take it or leave it."

Darius stared at him. "You're serious? You don't know anything about management."

"I'll learn," Tommy said coolly.

"Alright," Darius agreed. "Half partnership is yours." He held out his hand.

Tommy shook it heartily. "I think this is the start of a beautiful foundation, D."

"I'm sure it is," Darius laughed. "Now go mentor those boys."


	20. Chapter 19

**Bad news, gang. This will be the last update until maybe Sunday, but possibly not even then. The good news is I've written the epilogue to my fewshot, but the story isn't quite done. I just liked the idea I formulated for my ending, so I wrote it. Anyways, this is sort of a filler chapter, but there's Jommy action that's gonna make them front burners again. And I'm still taking girls names, if you have any good ideas. As always, love to the reviewers.  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

After another twenty minutes of being entertained by Funktion, Nic finally dragged Spiederman out and got him home. "I think things at G-Major are going to be heating up very soon."

"As do I," he said, kicking off his shoes. "So, I told everyone who's walking with who and whatnot, so they're ready for that. But when are you going to tell Tommy what song the two of you are dancing to?"

"Eventually," she assured him. "Maybe I'll get him out to dinner sometime this week to tell him about it."

"Whenever," he sighed. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Always," she confirmed. "How about spaghetti?" She rubbed her belly. "Baby's craving."

He smiled at her as he walked into the kitchen. "Have you thought of any more names yet?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I like Johnny for a boy."

"Johnny?" he repeated quietly. "As in, Ramone?"

Nic grinned. "Yep."

"Babe," he said. "That's the nicest thing we could name him."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm drawing blanks for girls. I know we told them all names the other night but I don't like those anymore. I want something that's gonna mean something to us."

"We could name her Montana?" he suggested. "Or Helena, or even Monica?"

"Please!" she cried, throwing a pillow at him. "I refuse to hate our child because of her name."

"My parents gave me a crappy name and they don't hate me," he pointed out.

"We'll think of something," she shrugged. "Something my parents would hate, most likely."

He laughed. "Yeah, probably. But, as long as we like it, that's all that matters."

"Do you wanna make the spaghetti or should I?" she asked.

"Can you cook?" he teased.

"Uhh, I used to make you that pizza casserole all the time," she reminded him. "And that chocolate cake."

He smirked. "Yeah, with directions on the boxes."

"Hey!" she cried. "It's more than you can do."

"I made you a very good cheeseburger yesterday," he reminded her.

Before he could continue, she held up a hand. "I have an idea for a girl's name."

"What?" he asked, leaning against the bar. "Britney? After your idol?"

"Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes. "No. If it's a girl, why don't we name her after Kyle?"

He considered. "Then she'd be Kiley and we already have one of those."

"You're right," she confirmed, "but his middle name is Tyler and that can be used for a girl. I'm gonna want him to be the Godfather, anyways."

Spiederman eyed her. "What about Wallace?"

"Godmother, duh," she laughed. "I know he'd be upset, so the baby will have two Godfathers and no Godmother."

"And Kiley?" he asked.

"She'll get over it," Nic waved off. "Besides, she'll only see it a couple of times a year."

"Good point," he agreed. "Will she be mad at first?"

She eyed him pointedly. "Does she seem like the type to just let something like that roll of her back so quickly? No. But, I'll explain it to her and the baby will say Kiley's an aunt, so it'll be fine. Sadie and Kwest will be it's aunt and uncle, too. And Darius and Portia."

"This kid's gonna have a big, extended family," he noted. "And it'll be spoiled."

"If you think that I won't spoil this child myself, you're delirious," she told him. "Remember, we brag, meaning we'll give our kid whatever it wants, while keeping it down-to-earth. Lex and Sophie are spoiled, but they're humble."

"Lex doesn't even know what humble means," he stated. "And neither does Sophie for that matter."

Nic closed her eyes. "When are you going to tell me what our wedding song is?"

"When I ask you to dance to it that night," he answered simply. "You promised me I could pick it, and I did, and I'm not telling you."

"Fine," she muttered, boiling water for the noodles. "Do you want spaghetti sauce by itself or would you like meat with it?"

"You pick," he suggested. "I'm up for anything."

"It's food," she said. "You'll _eat_ anything."

"Not true!" he cried. "Remember when Jude made that chicken-something casserole on Sadie's birthday? Yeah, I definitely didn't eat that. Not after it moved."

She laughed. "My excuse was that I was on a diet and couldn't eat poultry or any other unidentifiable foods."

"I'm pretty sure Tommy didn't even eat it," he remembered. "The only person who did, actually, was Patsy, but she doesn't even question anything."

"They say the biggest black hole known to science is in the Milky Way and I'd say it's Patsy's stomach," Nic joked.

He rolled his eyes. "You and your ridiculous knowledge of everything."

"Princeton," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I blame the Ivy Leagues."

"Oh, geez," he scoffed. "Can't you just admit that you're smart and quit blaming school?"

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "I'm smart."

"Now was that so hard?" he asked, as she joined him in the kitchen. "I don't think it was."

Later that night, after a meal of spaghetti and toast, Nic and Spiederman were sitting on their couch, watching her favorite episode of _Saturday Night Live_, the one with the Olsen twins hosted, when Jude burst into the apartment.

"Ugh, I hate him!" she yelled. "He picks fights over the most ridiculous and inane things."

Nic glanced at Spiederman. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that Tommy's being an idiot again?"

"Yes!" Jude threw herself onto the couch in between them, grabbed the remote from Nic's hand, and muted the TV. "I was giving Lex some warm milk because when she's whining  
about not going to bed, that usually does the trick and he starts ranting that giving her liquids is a bad idea and it'll only get her into the habit of wetting the bed!"

"Our mom said that," Nic spoke up quietly. "We couldn't have anything to drink after 8:00."

Jude's face paled. "I didn't mean that I thought it was a ridiculous idea or anything, Nic."

"No," Nic shook her head, "I know. I'm just saying, that's where he got it from."

"I told him when I was pregnant with her that I was going to raise her _my_ way; not like my parents had done, or your parents, but the way I chose to. She's been potty training for weeks and is doing fine. Warm milk isn't hurting her. Anyways, he started yelling and I started yelling and Lex started crying so I left. He can deal with it for once."

Before anyone else could say anything, the phone rang.

"Oh, what do you know?" Spiederman joked, looking at the caller ID. "Quincy, Tom." He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Let me talk to her," Tommy barked as Lex wailed in the background.

"Hold on," Spiederman requested, throwing Nic the phone. "He wants you."

"Yes, darling?" Nic teased.

"I meant Jude!" Tommy roared.

Nic clicked her tongue. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now, Thomas. She's quite peeved you tried to inflict our mother's child rearing skills onto her and talking to you  
might just make it worse. Maybe you should let her stay here tonight and talk in the morning?"

She rolled her eyes at Lex's crying. "Give the kid some warm milk and stick her in Sophie's room. She likes sleeping in there."

"Nic, damn it, don't preach to me!" he yelled. "Just let me talk to my wife!"

"Well, if you talk to her like you're talking to me, I doubt she'll be your wife much longer," Nic told him defensively. "Tommy, you need to calm down, deal with Lex, and come for Jude in the morning. For tonight, consider this a 'we're not almost 30' party." She hung up and threw the phone onto the coffee table. "Sometimes, it's hard to believe we're related."

Spiederman and Jude shared a look. "Actually," Jude started, "it's not."

"Ugh!" Nic cried. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, dear," Spiederman began cautiously, "you're both pretty reactive and hot-headed."

"We are not!" Nic countered. "Well, he is, but I'm not!"

"If you don't believe us, I could record this little tantrum you're throwing right now," Jude offered. "No offense, Nic, because we both love you dearly, but you're quite fiery."

"In the best possible way!" Spiederman added quickly, hoping not to anger her any more than he already was. "In an, uhh, attractive way?"

"Screw you both!" Nic laughed incredulously. "Maybe I'll just go down and hang out with Tommy tonight." She stood up. "Actually, I will." She smirked and left the apartment.

"Good, she's gone," Jude sighed. "Spied, I need to tell you something that no one else knows, so I'm trusting you to keep your mouth shut here, okay?"

"Uh, alright," he agreed. "Is this bad?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but it's not something I was planning." She took a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."

"Huh?" he said. "How? I mean, why?"

"I've been pretty tired lately and feeling nauseous and this morning, I threw up all over the bathroom. Luckily, Tommy had gone in early and knows nothing of it. I bought a test but I'm afraid to take it."

"What are you afraid of?" he asked. "You've raised Lex perfectly and you've done great with Soph."

"I know," she nodded, "but we never expected more than two."

He rubbed her back. "Do you think Tommy's gonna be upset about this?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I think it's the reason we've been fighting more lately, cause I'm so afraid to tell him."

"Don't be," he said. "Tommy loves you. In fact, if I were some schmuck who didn't believe in love, and I met you two, I'd believe in it. Look at what you two have made it through. And, you never planned on Lex and you love her more than anything."

"Yeah," she nodded. "We do. I mean, she brought us together."

"Then what's to say this new baby won't just solidify the solid relationship you already have?" he questioned.

"I hope it does," she breathed. "This fighting is just so not fun. We've been there and done that."

After another half an hour of talking, Spiederman fell asleep and Jude looked at the clock. _11:15._ She knew Nic was probably sleeping, or with Sophie, so she slowly stood, hoping to not wake her best friend up, crept out of the apartment, and quietly let herself into hers.

"I knew you wouldn't sleep anywhere but our bed," Tommy mused from his place on the couch. The lights were dim and he was reading a book. "Are we okay?"

Jude took a deep breath and sat down next to him. "Tommy, we need to talk."

"Okay," he agreed shakily, putting his book down on the coffee table. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," she nodded. "You know that we've been fighting a lot recently, right?"

"Yeah, but Jude, it's nothing to worry about," he assured her, taking her hands. "Married people fight."

"I know," she said. "It's just that, I may have found a reason to the madness." He just stared at her in confusion. "Tommy, I think I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" he repeated. "Like, with child?"

"Yeah, that's what pregnant means," she chuckled nervously. "I mean, I'm not sure or anything, but it makes sense. I've been moody, I've gotten sick. I have a test in the bathroom but I've been afraid to take it."

"What are you afraid of?" he asked softly. "That I'd be mad?"

She shrugged. "I guess. I mean, after Lex, we sort of decided that was it. And I don't know if I can raise three kids when I'm barely 21."

"Girl, I'm almost 28," he reminded her. "And I'm not going anywhere. Who cares if we only wanted two? Three's lucky. And besides, maybe it'll be a boy? We could use one around here."

"That's true," she laughed. "But if I'm pregnant, what does that mean for the tour? Darius has been putting it off for two years to let me be with Sophie and Lex, but I don't know if he'll do it again."

"Well, worst thing would be you tour acoustically or something, and then take some time off when you have the baby and then resume. That wouldn't be so bad," he offered. "Do you wanna go take that test?"

She sighed and stood up, leading him to their bathroom. "Where's Nic?"

"Sleeping in Sophie's room with the girls," he answered.

"Oh." Jude reached down under the medicine cabinet and pulled out the drugstore bag that contained her test. "All right, I have to pee on this."

Three minutes later, the timer on Tommy's cell phone went off. "Do you want to look or should I?" he whispered, looking at the applicator on the sink.

"One line is no, two is yes," she explained, turning away. "You look."

He braced himself and stood up from the side of the bathtub, looking down. His face broke into a large smile. "We should probably tell Darius to make acoustic arrangements first thing in the morning."

"I'm pregnant?" she muttered. "Great."

"Jude," he said soothingly. "This will be fine. It'll be better than fine. We're going to have another baby, at almost the same time as my sister. You two can be pregnant together."

"Hooray," she mumbled. "I hate being fat."


	21. Author's Note Contest

**So, since I don't have any updates right now, with Prom and senior portfolio taking over my life, I've come up with a little contest for some spoliers, should you want them.**

**Last night, as I was eating dinner, I watched one of my favorite movies and I figured I'd given you the chance to tell me what it is through a quote. The first person to get it will get one of the following (your choice):**

_Tommy and Nic's wedding dance_

_Nic and Spiederman's wedding song_

_A secret about Nic_

**Your entry can be left through a review and I will reply to the winner. Here's the line:**

_(answers phone): Hello? My life sucks._

**Okay, that's all you get. In your entry, tell me the movie and which option you'd like a spoiler to. Good luck.**

**ChArLeY**


	22. Author's Note

**So, two people got the movie, **_She's the Man_**, but I have no way of responding because they were anoymous, so instead of just telling them a secret, I'll let everyone in on Nic's: she's gonna be having twins. So the name Johnny is set in stone, but if anyone comes up with something better than Tyler that could mean something, let me know. **

**Hopefully I'll have an update up by tomorrow night, but no promises. Just don't hate me. And sadly, this story is coming to it's end as I'm moving onto the wedding and that'll be it. But, there's still the final part to the series, tentatively titled **_One Last Chance,_** and it's gonna be slightly different, just as a head's up. The first three have had some serious moments, but mostly light and fun. The final part deals with something that's pretty serious and sometimes controversial, so hopefully you'll like it just as much.**

**charley**


	23. Chapter 20

**Considering I'm so used to updating daily, this is weird cause it's been days since I last updated and it will be days again before I put up chapter 21. Sorry. There's not really much to this chapter, but hopefully it will tide everyone over until I get more written. As always, love to the reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

The following morning, Jude and Tommy walked into G-Major, hand-in-hand, prepared to tell Darius their news.

"Ready?" he asked as they stood outside his office.

She shook her head. "No, but we gotta do it."

"You're right," he agreed, knocking on the door. "D, can we come in?"

"Yeah!" Darius called out. "Well, well, well, Jude and Tom, knocking on my door? I guess there's a first time for everything, huh?"

"I guess," Jude sighed, sitting down. "We have something we need to tell you."

"Go ahead," Darius nodded, looking away from his computer. "I have a few minutes."

Tommy squeezed his wife's hand. "D, Jude is pregnant with our third child."

"You're kidding?" Darius replied. "Well, congratulations, you two. This is great news."

He paused. "And while I'm happy for you, I can't cancel your entire tour now."

"We figured as much," Jude interrupted. "So, we were thinking I could do the show acoustically, seated on a stool or something? The boys would all still play, just more mellow?"

Darius considered the option. "I like it. I'm gonna call a meeting for noon, to tell everyone. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Tommy told him. "We have a doctor's appointment at 11:00, but we should be back by then."

At 11:55, the Quincy's walked into conference room and took seats between Spiederman and Portia, waiting for whatever Darius had planned.

"All, there's work to be done, so let's begin," Darius announced. "Now, as we decided yesterday, the tour will be kicking off at Madison Square Garden on November 29 and will last until it ends here on March 3."

"We already know all this," Kyle spoke up. "What's with the meeting?"

"What's your hurry?" Wally laughed. "Hot date with Kiley?"

Kyle shot him a menacing look across the table. "Shut up."

"Girls, may I continue?" Darius asked. They nodded and he did. "Before I tell you the changes we're making to the tour, Jude and Tommy have an announcement."

Jude and Tommy stood up and smiled at each other.

"We're having a baby," Tommy told everyone.

"Oh, my God!" Spiederman cried. "It's a medical miracle! Squinty's having a baby!"

Tommy eyed him. "Not me, you idiot. Jude is having a baby."

Spiederman, who'd promised to remain quiet about already knowing, stood up to hug her. "Congratulations, dude."

"You better call your sister," Kwest warned, hugging them both, as well. "Because if she finds out that we all knew before her, she'll kill you, pregnant or not."

"I know," Jude laughed.

"Now, about the tour," Darius jumped in. "Since everything is set, the show will go on, which Jude has agreed to. What will happen is that it becomes an acoustic set mostly, other than ballads and maybe one or two classic songs, depending on what she can handle that night. The Spiederman boys will still back her up, just softer and still do their original set, as will Mason."

When the meeting ended, Spiederman walked into the lobby and found Nic on her cell phone, yelling at someone.

"What is your problem?" she cried. "Why are you acting like this now? It's over."

"Who is she talking to?" Mason asked, following the guitarist's gaze. "She looks pretty unhappy."

Spiederman shrugged and tentatively made his way to her. "Nic, babe, you all right?"

She held up a finger, telling him to wait. "Elise, no offense, but if Monica chose to cut you and your husband out of her life, I can't say I blame her. You make Michael Jackson's controlling father look inviting."

"Is she taking on Elise Robbins?" Spiederman asked excitedly.

"She's been on her phone, fighting, since you all went into the meeting," Julia called from the reception desk. "From what I understand, Monica has excommunicated herself from her parents and they're blaming Nic for ruining the perfect life she should've had, even if it was with you."

"Go to Hell!" Nic yelled before snapping her phone shut and composing herself. "So," she said brightly, turning to the G-Major crew, "what was the meeting about?"

"Uhh, would you like to explain that?" Spiederman asked. "Forget the meeting for a minute. Besides, you'll want to talk to your brother about it."

Nic took a deep breath. "Elise Robbins had the gull to call and threaten me about Monica cutting them out of her life, as if I forced the baby to not be yours."

"I should've known they'd attack," Spiederman sighed. "This is my fault."

"No, Spied, it's not," Nic told him. "You didn't make Monica sleep with that Justin guy the night you were supposed to get married and you didn't make her become pregnant. But  
didn't Wally mention that her parents have been trying to set Monica up with this guy for years?"

"Yeah," Spiederman nodded, understanding where she was going. "Shouldn't they be happy it's his and not mine?"

Nic sighed. "Maybe things aren't as perfect as we thought in their little world."

Tommy and Jude locked themselves into studio A and fell into their chairs.

"I'm wiped," Jude admitted tiredly, looking at her watch. "And sadly, it's only 1:00."

"So, boy or girl?" Tommy asked lazily.

She rolled her eyes. "Definitely boy. I don't think I can handle another freaking girl."

"It's not horrible," he laughed. "But I agree, a boy would be nice to carry on the Quincy name."

"But Quincy isn't even your real last name!" Jude pointed out. "Although, it's a lot easier than 'Dutois.' Does that technically mean that's _my _last name?"

"No," he answered. "Our name was legally changed to 'Quincy,' so I assure you, you're a Quincy."

"Good," she breathed. "I hate identity crisis."

"You're an idiot," he joked as she put her feet up in his lap. "So, I'm thinking we should probably tell my sister about this baby."

Jude's eyes widened. "I completely forgot! Yeah, get her in here."

Tommy pressed a button on the soundboard that worked as a PA system over all of G-Major. "Nic, get into studio A, please."

"I always forget we have that," Jude muttered. "I guess it comes in handy, huh?"

"This had better be important," Nic whined as she let herself into the studio. "Kyle's about to have a rap battle with Darius."

"He was?" Tommy asked in amazement. "Darius was going to stop working to do that?"

"He's a show-off," Nic reminded him. "So, what's the deal?"

"Sit down," Tommy requested. Once she was situated, he took a deep breath and then took Jude's hand. "Nic, Jude's pregnant."

"Shut up!" Nic squealed excitedly. "You mean, we're having babies together?"

Jude nodded happily. "We are!"

They jumped up and hugged each other while Tommy rolled his eyes at the craziness. After another minute, the girls sat back down.

"So, Tommy, I picked our song to dance to at the wedding," Nic said.

"And?" he nodded. "If you picked a Boyz Attack ballad, I'll kill you."

She smiled. "Actually, I'd never thought of that, but no, it's not. I picked 'Dance With My Father' by Luther Vandross."

Tommy was quiet for a minute. "That's absolutely perfect."

"Can't say I know the song, but it sounds good," Jude put in.

"It's about just wanting one more chance with your dad," Nic explained quietly. "And it's about wanting more for your mom to have one more chance because him being gone is killing her."

Tommy stared at his younger sister. She always looked so broken when their parents came up and now that she was getting married, he knew it was killing her that their mom couldn't be there like she was for Tommy's; she'd become too sick. "Nic, I know you want Mom to be there."

"Yeah, well, I understand why she can't be," she whispered. "I'll take her pictures, though, and it's still gonna be okay."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You're a lot like her."

"No, I'm not," she denied. "She was nice and kind and people liked her. I'm cynical and moody and people more or less fear me."

"Are you kidding?" Jude scoffed. "Nic, everyone adores you. You're like everyone's kid sister, even if you're older. Take Kyle, for instance. He would be lost without you. And let's not even begin talking about Spiederman."

Nic took a deep breath and wiped away the stray tears that had fallen. "Yeah, well, I'm inspiring."

"Aww, there she is," Jude joked. "The Icky Nicy we know and usually love."

"Mm-hmm," Nic laughed, standing up. "Am I done in here?"

"What's the rush?" Tommy asked. "Is there a trunk show somewhere in town?"

She smirked. "Very funny. No, I told you- Darius and Kyle? Rap battle?"

"Right," he nodded, standing up. "This we have to see." He held out a hand to his wife and led them to the lobby where a group had accumulated.

"Kyle's not so bad," Spiederman admitted. "I mean, he's obviously not Darius Mills, but he's not horrible."

Nic watched as her best friend walked in circles with Darius, eyeing the music mogul. Even though he was a total goofball, Nic loved him.

"I think I'm gonna officially hook him up with Kiley," she told Spiederman.

"Nic," he said warningly. "Do they know this?"

"They will," she mused, turning to walk away. "Let me know who wins."

"Where are you going?" Tommy called after her. "You're the one who wanted to see this."

Nic shrugged as she continued. "I have things to do and people to see."

Spiederman shook his head as she walked away, almost nervous about what she was about to do.


	24. Chapter 21

**Oh yeah, another update. Sorry it's taking too long but my computer is driving me crazy. Anyways, I finally secured a girl name (thanks golfa chickie), so thw twins will have monikers. Other than that, I hope you like this chapter. As always, love to the reviewers.**

"Hey, I'm heading down to New York for the weekend, so do you wanna hang out tonight before I go?" Nic asked later that afternoon when she called Kiley from her Mercedes, which she'd recently pulled from storage for the summer. "We could go out to dinner."

"Yeah, all right," Kiley agreed. "I need to talk to you, anyways."

Nic smiled and maneuvered her way into a spot in the parking garage at their complex. "I'll pick you up at 7:00 for dinner at Calamity." She snapped her phone shut and turned off her car.

"Hey, Nic," Kwest said from behind her as he climbed out of his Toyota Highlander. "What are you doing?"

"I get bored at G," she told him. "Why are you here? Jude and Tommy are still at the studio."

He nodded. "I know. I have to swing by their place to pick up some photo album for Sadie cause she's working on a birthday present for Isabelle."

"Oh, that's right!" Nic cried. "She turns one next month."

"My baby's growing up," he joked, leading her to the elevator. "And all Sadie can talk about is having another."

"Good God, what is it, baby season?" Nic teased. "Me and Jude and now Sadie? Talk about hormones raging."

He shuddered. "That's why I told her to wait until you guys have your kids before we get pregnant again."

"Then she and Patsy can have one at the same time," Nic smirked. "I'll bet Sade would love that because those two get along so well."

"Right," he rolled his eyes. "Like Jude and Eden."

"Eden," Nic repeated slowly. "Whatever happened to her? I mean, no one's seen her since their wedding, right?"

He shook his head. "Last I was told, she was moving to England to work with some people there, but I haven't heard anything from her."

"She was a fun girl," Nic said as the elevator reached their floor. "Well, tell Sadie good luck with the gift and I'll see you guys later."

Once inside her apartment, Nic checked their messages.

_Hi, guys, it's me," _Lindsey Spiederman's voice came through. _"I just wanted to call and see how you guys are doing cause we still have yet to see Nic since she's been back. We should set up dinner for sometime this week to hear about my future grandchild." _

_"Nic, it's Kirsten," _Kirsten Cass, Tra's girlfriend, said cheerfully in the next. _"Tra just now told us all that you're getting married and having a baby? Congrats, girl! Shaun's devastated that he officially can't have you now, but he'll meet some new supermodel and get over it, I'm sure. The four of us will definitely be there for the wedding, so I can't wait to see you. Bye!"_

And finally, one more. _"I know that I'm the last person you two probably want to hear from right now, but I saw that Nic was back and I heard through the grapevine that you're engaged and pregnant, so I just wanted to say congratulations and I'm sure things will work out perfectly for you two. After all, we went through too much for them not to. Okay, well, I guess that it. Bye."_

"Hmm," Nic mused, erasing Monica's message. "Weird." She picked up the wall phone, dialed a distant number from the back of her head, and waited.

"Hello?" a soft voice answered.

"Hi, Monica, it's Nic," Nic said into the receiver. "I got your message and just wanted to personally thank you for it."

Monica let out a sigh of relief on her end. "Oh, you're welcome. I was actually afraid that what I'd done was inappropriate and was worried you'd freak out about it."

"No, it was nice," Nic assured her. "Listen, I would say that this is none of my business, but since your mother called me today and blamed me for ruining your life, claiming I'm the reason you cut them out of your life, so I'm kinda wondering what happened?"

"Yeah, me too," Monica admitted quietly. "It's complicated, I suppose. See, when we realized Justin was the father, which was proven by another paternity test, he told me that what had happened was a mistake and he wanted nothing to do with the baby, or me, for that matter. Anyways, I think my parents then realized that Spiederman, though unconventional by their standards, was obviously a great guy if he was willing to give up the love of his life for us and when I figured out that _they'd _figured it out, I knew I needed to separate myself from them; they're too controlling."

"Wow," Nic breathed. "No offense, but I sort of saw you as the golden child for the rest of your life."

"Trust me, you're not the only one," Monica laughed.

"So, now what?" Nic asked. "I mean, I assume you're living at the loft?"

"Yes," Monica confirmed. "It's a great space, with plenty of room for the baby, so why not?"

Nic smiled. "Good point. And the baby?"

"Is good, according to the doctor," Monica replied. "He's due in September and I can't wait."

There was an awkward pause before Nic spoke. "All right, well, I just wanted to see that you were doing okay and thank you for the message."

"Anytime," Monica said. "Goodbye, Nic." And with that, she hung up.

"Hi," Spiederman said, letting himself in as she put the phone back on the charger. "Who was that?"

"Monica," she told him, kissing his cheek. "She left a message congratulating us about the engagement and the baby, so I called to see what happened with George and Elise?"

"And?" He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a Red Bull. "Is everything okay?"

"The Justin guy wants nothing to do with Monica and the baby, so when her parents realized you were the good guy all along, she realized she let them dictate too much and she left," she reported. "She's still at the loft, the baby is due in September, and she's pumped. Other than that, I'm having dinner with Kiley, your parents want us for dinner soon, and Kirsten Cass called and told me to expect her, Danny, Tra, and Shaun for the wedding."

"That's good," Spiederman said. "They're your friends and they should be there."

She smiled. "I'm excited. Kirsten and I used to go shopping in these little French boutiques and even though I'm completely fluent, we would always talk in these ridiculous Valley girl accents, but because we had money, they catered to our every ridiculous whim. And this one time, we were all in Cabo, while the boys did promo shots for Mountain Dew and Shaun got stung by a sting ray and Tra had to pee on him. Oh, God, it was great."

"You miss them, huh?" he asked discreetly. "Not necessarily being there, but they were your friends for like, two years. They were _your_ friends."

"I don't understand," she said, leading him to their bedroom. "So what if they were _my_ friends? They'll be your friends, too."

He smiled. "No. I mean, I'll like them, cause they're my wife's friends, but they don't have to be my friends, Nic. We don't have to have all the same friends."

"We don't," she said smugly. "I have Kiley and you already hate her. But I like sharing friends with you, Spied; it's cute."

"But it's so couple-y," he mumbled. "Jude and Tommy? They have most of the same friends, even if Tommy hates to admit that he and I are friends. Sadie and Kwest also have most of the same friends. If you haven't noticed in the last almost three years we've known each other, we've been different than them in one major way- we're cooler."

"Fine," she huffed, pulling off her blouse. "I'll stop hanging out at G-Major and pretend I don't even know my own best friend anymore."

Spiederman let out a deep breath and fell back onto the bed. "Nic, don't be stupid. You know what I meant."

"Do I?" she smirked. "Everything we are is so anti-couple so why can't we do one couple-y thing?"

"Is it that important to you?" he asked.

Nic shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it is. Are you like, afraid that getting married is going to change everything?"

"I don't know," he admitted softly, taking her hands and pulling her onto the bed with him. "I want to marry you. I want to marry you more than I ever wanted to play guitar or meet Tim Armstrong or interview with _Rolling Stone._ I just don't want to compromise who I am."

"Hey," she said quietly, leaning into him, creating a perfect puzzle with their bodies. "Spied, I would _never_ make you change who you are for me. I haven't, have I?"

"No!" he assured her quickly. "I just know that marriage changes people."

"Not us," she shook her head, closing her eyes. "We're too perfect to change. If it's not broken, don't fix it."

"To quote Wally, 'snob,'" he teased, holding her tightly. "What are we gonna do with you?"

"I have ideas," she whispered suggestively into his ear.

"I would love to, but first, I need to tell you something," he interrupted. "I think I came up with a name for a girl."

She smiled. "Really?"

"You know how my grandma's the one who taught me how to play?" he wondered.

"Yeah," she nodded. "What about her?"

He sighed. "Well, she died when I was 13 and she was the most amazing person I ever knew. Well, before you," he added quickly. "Anyways, I was thinking maybe, if we have a girl, we could name her after my grandma?"

"That's a good idea," she agreed. "Her name was Coleen, right?"

"Uh-huh," he confirmed. "But we'd call her Coley."

She squealed. "I love it!"

"Really?"

"Of course!" she cried. "I'm so glad we have names- Johnny or Coley."

He rubbed her back under her t-shirt. "Now, back to what we have to do with you."

"Ooh, dirty," she joked, pulling the covers up over them.

Before anything could happen, the phone rang.

"Ugh," Nic complained, reaching a hand out for the phone. "Hello?"

"I need you to come now," Kiley demanded. "I have to talk to you about something and it's killing me."

Nic threw back the blanket and sat up, smoothing her hair as she did. "I'll be there in 15 minutes. And Kiley? This better be important."

"You're going?" Spiederman groaned. "We were gonna play Doctor."

She pushed him off the bed. "You're disgusting. But, I gotta go. She's says it's urgent and she's my friend, so I gotta see what's up." She put on a pair of Jimmy Choo flip-flops. "We're just going to Daley's, so I won't be real late." She leaned down to help him up. "When I get back, we can resume," she winked, walking out the door.

"That's verbally binding!" he yelled after her.

As soon as Nic knocked on Kiley's hotel room door, she was yanked in.

"He called," Kiley whined. "Charlie called me."

"Charlie?" Nic repeated, setting her purse on the small kitchenette table. "As in, Charlie Gilmore, your ex-boyfriend? Well, what did he want?"

"Me," Kiley answered. "He wants me to come back tomorrow, Nic, to be with him. To marry him."

Nic's jaw dropped. "He asked you to marry him?"

"In more or less words," Kiley breathed. "Anyways, I haven't even told you the kicker yet."

"Which is?" Nic implored.

"I like money," Kiley explained. "And Charlie's got a lot of it, so my immediate thought was to just agree and go back, marry him. And then, I thought about how I woke up yesterday."

"You thought about how you woke up with Kyle?" Nic said in wonder. "So what?"

Kiley looked down at her hands. "I liked it. Not that I necessarily like Kyle and want to continue sleeping with him, but right after I hung up with Charlie, he called me, asking if I wanted to have dinner sometime this week? He said we got off on the wrong foot and he wanted to make it better."

"Aww," Nic grinned. "How can you not absolutely love him?"

Kiley rolled her eyes. "Nic, I don't know him."

"You do in the biblical sense," Nic shot back sarcastically. "Anyways, you're basically saying you're not going to marry the richest boy in Montana because of a drummer in a rock band?"

"Basically," Kiley scoffed. "I mean, yeah, he wasn't the greatest guy when I met him, but he's growing on me. And besides, Charlie just wants me back because his parents are probably pressuring him to marry so he gets his inheritance."

"Wow," Nic murmured. "Well, dang it! There goes my mission."

"That sounds daunting," Kiley mused. "And what mission was this?"

"I was going to hook you up with Kyle," Nic told her. "That's the other reason I asked you to dinner."

Kiley shook her head. "I can't believe I turned down $426 million for a guy I barely know."

"Me either," Nic offered. "But I'm proud. My little Kiley is growing up into a mature young woman."

"Shut up!" Kiley exclaimed. "Now come on. You still owe me a meal."


	25. Author's Note Apology

**So, I feel like total crap for not updating lately, but I have valid reasons. I've been finishing my senior portfolio, I graduate in a little more than three weeks, and I'm going away to college in three months. It's a scary time for me. Add boy drama into that mix and it's quite problematic. On the plus side, I should have something up in **_Third Time's the Charm_ **sometime on Tuesday hopefully and I'm working on a short Jommy oneshot for everyone who feels like that department has been lacking in **_TTtC_. **Sorry for the delay and I hope no one loses interest cause I do love everyone who reads and especially those who review. You're amazing, duh.**

** Charley**


	26. Chapter 22

**I couldn't leave out playing Doctor, so the beginning of this chapter is kinda funny, I guess. And I'm pretty sure that if Spiederman has a brother on the show, he's never been mentioned, so pretend. Sorry it took me like a week, but I'm doing my best for you guys. Hope you like it and I love everyone who reads and especially those who review.**

When Nic got back to the apartment that night, Spiederman was sleeping soundly on the couch as _Employee of the Month _played on the TV.

"There goes Doctor," she smirked.

"I don't think so!" he spoke, his eyes still closed. "I'll just give you some time to change."

She scoffed. "Oh, gee, how nice of you?"

He looked up at her. "I've never seen a nurse dressed in jeans and a tank top before."

"Well, I don't own any scrubs either," she pointed out.

"No," he confirmed, "but you _do_ own that nurse-like lingerie set I bought you as a late Christmas present."

"Which turns out to be more a present for you than me," she laughed, walking back to their bedroom. "Give me a couple of minutes."

Nic walked to her top dresser and pulled out the white silk bra and panties with the Red Cross symbol. She then found the matching nurse hat and changed, adding white fishnets and white stilettos. "Do I have to call you into the office?" she yelled out to him.

"Duh!" he yelled back. "We're playing this very seriously."

She sighed and cracked open the door. "Mr. Spiederman, the doctor will see you now," she said in her breathiest voice.

He smiled brightly at the sight of her and walked into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed.

"Before he comes in, I'll need to ask you some questions," she continued.

"I think one will suffice," he cut in knowingly.

"All right," she nodded. "Where does it hurt?" she whispered seductively.

"Everywhere," he answered, pulling her down on top of him. "And I don't think the doctor can fix it. But, the nurse? She might."

Nic kicked off her shoes, pulled off the hat, and unmade the bed. "Yes, I think she can."

The following morning, Jude and Tommy got Lex and Sophie dressed and stopped by Nic and Spiederman's before heading to G-Major for the day.

"Should we leave the girls in here?" Jude whispered. "They could be scarred by what might be found back there."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "Girls, sit here and watch TV until we talk to Spied and Nic, okay?"

"Okay!" Lex screamed, still pumping on her three glasses of orange juice.

Jude and Tommy walked down the hallway and opened the bedroom door, laughing at the sight. Nic was in her nurse costume, laying between Spiederman's legs on his chest. He only wore the Barbie boxers Wally had bought him as a gag for his 21st birthday.

"Good morning, kids," Tommy spoke up. "Shouldn't you be getting up for work?"

Spiederman looked at the clock tiredly. "It's only 10:15, Squinty. Give us another hour."

"Spied, you don't have an hour to spare," Jude reminded him. "Your album is dropping in three weeks and we have to shoot promo shots all day."

"No," he whined, careful not to wake his fiancé. "She looks good as a nurse, doesn't she?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "I'll abstain from answering that question."

"Why are they here?" Nic yawned. "It's early."

"Nicole, it's quarter after ten," Tommy explained. "Get up and do something."

"I'm chaperoning your wife to New York tomorrow," she pointed out. "What more do you want? I don't have a job anymore."

Jude smirked. "Okay, but you're planning a wedding, having a baby, moving, and writing a book. Sounds like you've got a lot more on your plate then me."

"Fine," Nic groaned, stretching out. "I'm up ."

20 minutes later, Nic and Spiederman stumbled into the living room where everyone was waiting for them.

"Icky Nicy, you look sweepy," Lex noted.

"Long night," Nic joked, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Do you want some?"

Spiederman shook his head and pulled a Red Bull from the fridge. "This should do."

"Your car or mine?" she asked.

"Umm, yours," he shrugged. "Come on, Soph. Last one to the garage sings like Sadie."

"No!" the eight-year-old squealed, chasing after him down the steps. "She sounds like a dying cow!"

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Jude teased, loading into the elevator with Tommy, Nic, and Lex. "Sadie would be so happy to know she's talked about so highly."

"I know," Tommy chuckled. "But, it's a pretty accurate comparison."

"Yeah, it is," Nic grinned, sipping her coffee. "So, what time do we leave tomorrow morning?"

"Our flight goes at 8:05," Jude reported. "Which means we should be at the airport around 7:15 or so."

Once they arrived at G-Major, Nic settled onto the couch in the lobby on her laptop and Spiederman went to Portia for wardrobe to shoot the album cover and booklet.

"You need to write your 'thank-you' page today, too," Portia told him, fitting him for a jacket. "Darius needs to send those in by tonight."

"Cool," he said. "So, when will Nic and Jude get back from New York on Sunday?"

"Around 11:30," she replied. "Why?"

His face fell. "I'm in charge of wedding details until she gets back."

"I'll help you," she offered. "That's what I do. What does she need you to do?"

"Find a caterer, bartender, and tell Janine our wedding song," he recited.

Portia eyed him. "What _is_ your wedding song?"

"Well, Nic loves Jack Johnson and he's got a song called 'Better Together' that I like so I picked that," he grinned, proud of his choice. "Think she'll like it."

"I think she'll love it," Portia smiled. "Nicely done, Spied."

"Thank you." He looked at his reflection. "Could I keep this jacket when I'm done?"

"Really?" she scoffed. "This is a Ralph Lauren original and you hate designer clothes. You always leave that to Nic."

"True," he nodded, "but this jacket is like butter."

Portia laughed. "All right, fine. You can keep the jacket."

"Thanks," he said. "Am I done?"

"Go on," she told him. "But if you mess that jacket up before you shoot, not only will you not get to keep it, but you'll also have to explain to your fiancé why $7,000 is missing from your bank account when you pay for it."

He rolled his eyes. "I promise to be careful, Mommy," he joked, leaving her office.

"We're having dinner with your parents tonight," Nic announced when he sat with her in the lobby. "Your mom is making that pizza casserole you love and we have to be there at 7:00. Lindsey mentioned that your cousin Danielle and her second husband might be there, but maybe not."

"I hope not," he admitted. "I liked her first husband too much to accept the new guy."

Nic smirked. "If I know Danielle the way I think I do, husband number two won't be her last."

"Me, too," he agreed, leaning against her shoulder. "What have you come up with?"

"A perfect seating arrangement!" she cried happily. "24 tables, eight to a table."

He looked over at the computerized chart. "It looks immaculate."

"It is," she assured him. "No one is seated with anyone to cause any fighting."

"Good," he grinned lazily. "Our wedding will be perfect."

"Duh," she giggled. "Okay, now you know what you need to go over with Janine this weekend, right? She'll be at the apartment on Saturday at noon to discuss food, drink, and our song."

"The song you know nothing about," he added smugly. "Do you how much I love keeping secrets from you?"

"As of June 4, there are no more secrets in this relationship," she interrupted. "Understand?"

"Yes, Mother," he whined childishly. "Whatever you say."

Later that night, they parked her Lexus in Lindsey and Jack's driveway and let themselves into the house Spiederman had grown up in.

"Ma, Pop, we're here!" he yelled in the direction of the kitchen. "You in the kitchen?"

"Spied, tone it down a notch," his mother reprimanded him. "Or no dessert." Nic laughed and Lindsey eyed her. "I'm not joking."

"Sadly," Spiederman said, "she's not. I can't tell you the number of times I went to bed as a kid without dessert."

"Probably more times than not," Lindsey teased. "You weren't exactly the most well-behaved child on the block."

Jack entered the kitchen then. "And that's growing up with Wally, Kyle, and Jamie."

"Jamie?" Nic repeated. "I find it hard for Straight-and-Narrow Andrews to have been a wild child."

"Please," Lindsey scoffed. "If Jude said 'jump,' Jamie's response was, 'off what bridge?' He adored the girl to pieces."

"Still does," Spiederman confirmed, sneaking a bite of the casserole.

"Vincent!" Lindsey cried in disapproval. "Do you really want to test me?"

He bashfully looked away. "No, ma'am."

"Wow, you'll have to teach me that," Nic laughed. "Cause you just made him look like a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar."

Lindsey shrugged mysteriously as the front door opened again and two young children ran in screaming.

"Mom," Spiederman said warningly. "What are Tyson and Callie doing here?"

"Your brother is in town for a week," Jack explained. "Don't be rude, Spied. He's excited to meet Nic."

"Your brother?" Nic mumbled. "He's your son from a previous relationship, right?" she asked Jack. "Uhh, Zac?"

"Yes," Jack nodded. "I'd say he and Spied haven't spoken since Callie was born and she's almost five now."

"Huh," Nic breathed as the two children were followed by a guy in his late 20's and a woman of the same age.

"Hey, Dad," Zac greeted his father, hugging him. "Hi, Lindsey."

"Hi, sweetie," Lindsey grinned, hugging him and then the girl. "Rachel, you look nice."

"Thank you," Rachel replied. "Spied, hi."

Spiederman sighed. "Hey. Zac, Rachel, this is my fiancé, Nic. Nic, this is my brother, Zac, and his wife, Rachel."

Nic shook their hands. "It's nice to meet you both."

"You did good, little brother," Zac noted.

"Don't call me that," Spiederman shook his head. "I see you about once every five years and I suppose blood makes us family, but don't pretend like you've given me girl advice all my life, Zac." He stood up and walked outside to the porch swing.

"He's stressing," Nic offered. "The wedding's in a few weeks and I'm leaving for the weekend. He didn't mean what he said." She stood up from her stool and followed him outside. "Hey, you okay?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just hate how he can waltz in every few years like he's here from every birthday and holiday. And what's worse is that my mom goes along with it and he usually treats her like crap."

She sat down with him and took his hand. "There's no law that says you have to get along with your siblings. I mean, for a lot of the time Tommy did Boyz Attack, I resented him. In fact, I started a Boyz Attack bashing website."

"I was probably a member," he smirked. "Zac being here makes me wish Danielle had come with her new husband instead."

"Let's just get through dinner," she suggested. "We won't invite them to the wedding if you don't want to."

"Trust me," he started, "I don't."


	27. Authors Note Delay

So, my computer is way down right now and I'm at school doing this illegally, but I just wanted to give everyone a head's up on a few things:

1. I know I said there would be a fourth part to the series I'm writing but I've changed my mind. Instead, I'm going to write an epilogue to _Third Time's the Charm_ and that will end that. Don't worry, it'll be happy.

2. I'm starting a new story. This one will be a Jommy and a Nicerman (if you know about Nic Quincy) and will take place 3 years after season two with some season three things (ie- Patsy's death, all things Karma, Darius leaving) and it'll be funny, I think. I'll hopefully have the background info up soon. It's tentatively titled, _Since When Is Divorce So Cool?_

3. Until then, no updates until my laptop is fixed cause we don't know what's wrong with the dang thing. It's just not turning on at the moment. Hopefully, that'll be this week, but no promises.

Finally, I love everyone who still reads and doesn't give up on me cause I love writing for you guys.

Charley


	28. Author's Note Sorry

I'm just posting this author's note at my sister's house to apologize profusely for being so flaky about updating. I will say that this story is finished and I'm just finishing up the epilogue right now. My laptop was way worse than I thought and it's taking some time to fix, so my Internet at home is not functioning at the moment. As for _Since When Is Divorce so Cool?_ I'm hoping to start working on that one as soon as I get it back. Once again, sorry I suck so bad about updates and I promise to make it up to everyone. As always, I love people who are still following.

ChArLeY


	29. Chapter 23

**It has been TOOOOO long, but I'm back! Unfortunately, because my computer was so messed up, the last two chapters of this story weren't saved, so I have to re-write them, but I think they'll be okay. This is the second to last chapter (sad, I know) but there's an epilogue and then I'll be full force on _Since When Is Divorce So Cool_**? **I'm excited. Hope you like it. And thank you for being patient.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Nic tiredly opened her eyes on Friday morning when their alarm went off at 8:00 and sighed. "Get up," she told Spiederman slapping his butt. "We gotta head to the airport."

"No," he whined. "It's early."

"Spied," she said more sternly. "Come on."

"Meanie," he mumbled, throwing back the covers as he stood up and stretched.

When they arrived at the airport, he walked her to security and then they stopped to say their goodbyes.

"I'll miss you," she said softly. "We haven't been apart for more than a couple of hours since I've been back."

"I know," he nodded, pulling her to him. "And it's gonna be incredibly hard, but I think we'll be okay."

She smiled sadly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he told her, kissing her lightly. "Do you want me to wait here with you until Jude gets here?"

"Nah," she shook her head. "I'm gonna go get a magazine to read on the plane."

He kissed her again. "Be good and call when you all land."

"I will," she promised, turning to walk away.

"Ready?" Tommy asked Jude as they stood with Lex and Sophie at the drop-off outside. "Sure you don't want us to come inside?"

"Positive," she replied, bending down to her girls. "All right, I gotta go."

"Bye, Mommy!" Lex cried, kissing Jude's cheek. "I'll miss you."

"Me, too," Sophie added, taking her turn to hug her.

Jude stood up. "Be good," she warned Tommy. "They're a handful when they're together and you've never had to deal with them alone without me."

"Jude, I'm their dad," he reminded her. "How hard can it be?"

"Okay," she shrugged, leaning in to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said. "All right, girls, let's roll out before I get a ticket. You guys can come to work with me today and bug Kwest and Darius."

"Well, I'm impressed," Jude admitted when she got to terminal 4B. "You're already here and you're not drinking coffee. Your baby will thank you for that someday."

Nic rolled her eyes and took a drink of her Diet Mountain Dew. "You know, I'd resent that, but I know coffee is bad for a baby, so I cut back. And, I actually woke up to my alarm, so I've been here for 15 minutes already."

"Dang," Jude noted, sitting down next to her sister-in-law. "Maybe you're maturing."

"Or maybe something else had kept me up all night and I never fully fell asleep?" Nic mused, looking down at the issue of _Glamour_ in her lap.

"Too much," Jude interrupted. "New topic."

Before long, the girls were asked to board the plane, but not before Jude signed a few autographs for the young flight attendants at the desk.

"Does it ever get old?" Nic wondered, settling into her window seat. "The autographs and the stalking and the tabloids?"

Jude shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I don't really like being followed with a camera in my face all the time, but you even deal with that. Autographs are fun and I've never had a stalker."

"I miss Spied," Nic whispered. "This trip better go by fast."

"Well, at least you'll get mandatory shopping on Fifth Avenue, as requested by Darius," Jude reminded her. "That's gotta make you happy, right?"

Nic nodded reluctantly. "That's true. I do need to step foot into Chanel since I haven't been there since Paris."

"Wow," Jude breathed. "Of course, anything you buy, you won't be able to wear in a few months."

"Says the girl who also pregnant," Nic shot back quickly.

"And shopping only comes after _TRL, CD USA, _and the Virgin Megastore," Jude added.

"Yes, Jude, I'm well aware," Nic said dryly. "I've been given the agenda."

"Just making sure," Jude chuckled, buckling her seat belt.

When the girls landed at LaGuardia, they retrieved their bags and were ushered into a limo that would take them to the Plaza in the city. Once at the hotel, they checked into their room and realized it was only 11:30.

"What should I wear to MTV?" Jude wondered, looking through her suitcase. "Dress-up or rocker?"

"Umm, both," Nic suggested, pulling out a pair of black jeans, a white fitted t-shirt, and a black vest. "Add the Converse I bought you for Christmas and you'll be golden."

"What would I do without you?" Jude asked.

"Probably die," Nic joked. "I'm sure whatever you would have chosen would've been okay, but I'm also sure that outfit would still be better."

Jude scoffed as Nic's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Thanks for calling when you landed," Spiederman's voice came through. "Good thing I'm not one to worry."

"Yes, you are," she told him jokingly. "Sorry. We just got to the hotel and we've got a while before we need to leave for _TRL_, so we're just hanging out."

Jude, who was now painting her nails black, looked over at her. "Tell him I said hi."

"Judy says hello," Nic relayed.

"Hey," he said back. "So, I asked Portia to help me out with wedding plans."

"Good," she sighed. "I was going to call and ask her to keep an eye on you."

He feigned mock hurt. "You didn't trust me to do it on my own?"

"Would you like me to answer that honestly?" she smirked. "I trust you, Spied; I just trust her more when it comes to planning things."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "Well, I gotta go write my 'thank you' page cause I didn't yesterday and Darius isn't real happy."

She shook her head. "It better all be about me."

"Most of it will," he assured her. "I love you," he added, just before hanging up.

"They look okay?" Jude held out her nails for Nic's approval.

Nic eyed them. "Personally, with your skin tone, I would've chosen a dark red, but black is more you, so they look fine."

"Well, I'm gonna take a nap," Jude yawned. "Make sure I'm up at 1:15 to leave." She slid down to her pillow and was instantly sleeping.

Nic turned on the TV and after finding nothing, settled for local news.

_"And tonight, be sure to tune into another Diane Sawyer special featuring front man and lead guitarist for the Spiederman Mind Explosion, Vincent Spiederman, and his fiancé, Nic Quincy, sister of boy band legend, Tom Quincy," the male newscaster promoted. "I know my daughter will watch, Lisa; she loves that band."_

_Lisa agreed. "My son loves that fiancé. He even subscribed to _The Chronicle_ when he found out she was an editor. She seems to be one of those girls just famous for being famous, but people definitely seem to like her; I know I think she's a lovely girl."_

Nic couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure she'd call Tommy a 'boy band legend,' but it was nice to know she had fans.

Later that afternoon, the two girls stood outside the MTV building and before either could say anything, a young woman with bright red hair hurried them inside.

"Welcome to MTV," Bri Winters, one of _TRL_'s producers, greeted them brightly. "If you'll step into the elevator, I'll escort you upstairs to the 8th floor where you'll be taping, Jude." She turned to Nic. "And don't be surprised if you're stalked by the people from _Cribs_, Miss Quincy. They're looking to do a G-Major edition and they want to include Spiederman, Jude and Tommy, and Mason Fox."

"Well, if they could wait until we move in August, we'll do it," Nic agreed. "And Mason lives in the cutest ranch just outside of Toronto, with horses and everything."

"I'm sure they'll wait," Bri said as the doors opened. "Okay, Jude, hair and makeup is expecting you and Nic, craft services is in the green room, which you're welcome to."

At 4:15, Damian Fahey, _TRL_'s most popular VJ, stood on the side stage, looking into the camera. "Today, we've got a special guest with us who, even though she's from Canada, is a huge hit here in the States. So, here to perform her latest hit 'One-Way Street' from her coming album, _Finally Grown Up, _let's give it up for Jude Harrison-Quincy!"

Jude, who'd agreed to use the house band, started the intro to the song and everyone in the audience surrounded the stage and got really into the music. Nic bobbed her head along from the wings, smiling as Jude got into the song and interacted with her fans.

"So, Jude, this is your fourth album now and it's pretty different from the first three," Damian noted when Jude joined him on the side stage after her performance. "What can we expect this time around?"

"Well, like the title says," Jude began, "I've grown up. I'm not the same 15-year-old little girl singing '24 Hours' anymore and I just want people to see that now. I mean, I'm married, I have two kids, and music isn't my number one priority now with a family."

"Do you think your younger fan base can still relate to this older Jude?" he wondered.

"For sure," she replied. "Regardless of age, the songs are still real. I mean, 'One-Way Street' is about feeling like you only have one path to take, whether you think it's right or not. Umm, 'Follow You' is all about being so in love that you'd do pretty much anything for the other person, and 'Where It All Went Wrong' is about being turned away when a boyfriend's ex comes back into his life."

Damian nodded. "So, what are some of your favorite songs on the new album?"

"I like 'One-Way Street,' actually," she answered. "And I like 'Where It All Went Wrong,' too."

"Now, rumor is that 'Where It All Went Wrong' is about what happened when your sister-in-law, Nic Quincy, returned after mysteriously leaving a couple years before and how Spiederman, who was engaged at the time, handled it. Is that true?"

Jude looked over at Nic and smiled. "It could be. I do like to write songs from real-life experiences, whether they're mine or someone I know, so it's a good possibility Spiederman and Nic are the topic of a song or two."

"So, what's up next for you?" Damian continued. "A tour, maybe?"

"I will be touring," Jude confirmed as the audience cheered. "We'll kick it off here on November 29 at Madison Square Garden and then there will be a break taken in between so I, along with Nic, can give birth, and then we'll go back at the end of January or early February until the end of April."

"Wait, wait, wait," Damian interrupted her. "Three kids before the age of 22? Can you handle that?"

Jude shrugged. "Well, Tommy's an amazing dad and Sophie's going to be nine a few months after the new baby is born, so we'll manage. I like babies and I'll probably have at least one more in the future."

"Well, congratulations on everything," he told her. "Good luck with the album, baby, and tour and we hope you come back to see us."

"Definitely," she said.

"Now, getting back into the countdown, here's Britney Spears at number seven with 'Stop Talking,'" he introduced as the cameras faded to the music video from the re-birthed pop princess.

"You were great!" Bri gushed once Jude was backstage. "I can't believe you're pregnant. Both of you!" she added to Nic.

"We are," Nic laughed.

"Well, it was so great to have you here, Jude," Bri went on. "And Nic, try talking that fiancé of yours into coming here, would you? We love SME around _TRL._"

Nic smiled. "Their album is coming out soon, so you can expect they'll definitely want to come in the next few weeks. Just give G-Major a call."

At the Virgin Megastore, the line to see Jude was completely wrapped around the entire store and she sat at the table, happily obliging to sign autographs and take pictures.

"Hi, could I get a picture?" a young boy of about 16 asked nervously, stepping up to the table.

Jude stood. "Sure."

"Actually, I meant her," he explained, pointing to Nic. "I used to love _The Chronicle_ when you worked there."

"Thanks," Nic beamed, walking around the table to pose with him. "Well, I'm not there anymore, but I am working on a book."

"Really?" he blushed. "I can't wait."

As soon as he was gone, the attention went back to Jude, which Nic didn't mind, but it had been nice to be recognized for something other than being engaged to one of the planet's most famous rock stars for once.

"That was the longest trip of my life," Nic muttered when she and Jude got off their plane on Sunday afternoon back in Toronto. "I could kill Darius."

"Hey, he saw good things from _TRL _and wanted more appearances and promotions," Jude rationalized. "That's what he does."

"I still hate him for it," Nic whined as they made it to security. "Aww, look at the little Quincy family, waiting patiently for their mommy."

Jude rolled her eyes and ran the last couple of yards, taking her daughters tightly into her arms. "I missed you two."

"We missed you, too," Sophie said, kissing her cheek. "And I'm glad you're back cause Daddy cooked for us and we had to eat gross food."

"Broccoli," Tommy told her. "God forbid I make them eat vegetables instead of the crap you're always ordering out for or the pizza casserole you make."

Jude stood up and kissed him. "They're little girls; they'll appreciate vegetables more when they're older."

"Like you do?" he smirked.

"I'm still a little girl, too," she pointed out. "I mean when they're like, 40."

Nic walked past them and stared at Spiederman, who was casually leaning up against a wall. "I just got back from the most tiring weekend of my life and you want me to come to you?"

"Duh," he teased, using her favorite phrase."

"Ha," she laughed, heading for the escalator. "You can forget that, bud."

"Hey!" he cried, hurrying to chase after her. "I was only kidding." He took her into his arms and kissed her. "I missed you."

She eyed him pointedly. "Duh."

"Brat," he shook his head as they walked to baggage claim. "So, are you excited about the surprise I have planned for us?"

"I would be if I knew what it was," she said dryly, picking up her smaller bag while he grabbed her larger one. "Care to tell me?"

"Nope," he answered cheekily, leaving the airport and heading for his Jeep.

"I hate surprises," she whined. "And I'm going to pout and mope until you tell me."

He rolled his eyes. "Then you'll be pouting and moping until we get there cause I'm not telling."

They rode in silence, while Nic fumed and Spiederman sang along to the oldies station on the radio. When they got to the small lot in the middle of nowhere, Nic began to worry.

"You're not gonna like, leave me out here to die so you don't have to marry me, are you?" she asked, half joking, half serious.

"Shut up," he laughed, walking around to help her out. "Can't you just wait a few more minutes?"

A moment later, she was standing with her arms crossed, shaking her head. "Absolutely not. You know I'm afraid of heights."

Spiederman, who was standing in front of a hot air balloon, turned back to her. "Come on, Nic. I'm not going to let you fall out and he promised to only go the minimum height."

"Is it more than five feet off the ground?" she demanded. "Oh, it is? Yeah, then I'm not going."

After a minute of assuring her she'd be fine, Spiederman finally got her into the basket and he held onto her waist tightly as they lifted off the ground.

"I could kill you for this," she warned him.

"Liar," he smiled, kissing her cheek.

"You're just lucky you're cute," she replied. "If not, you'd be on my list."

He grinned. "Then I'm glad I'm cute, too cause I've been on that list and your list is not so fun."


	30. Chapter 24

**Officially, this is it. The end of an era for me. There's still the epilogue and then this trilogy will have a fork stuck in it because it's DONE. I'm terribly sad, but I hope everyone enjoys the wedding.**

On the morning of the wedding, Nic woke up much earlier than Jude and Sadie and hurried downstairs to Sadie's kitchen for some coffee. She knew it was bad for the baby but it was either coffee or alcohol so she chose the lesser of two evils.

"Why do I get the feeling that's not your first cup?" Jude yawned once she and Sadie finally woke up. "It's not good for you."

"Don't," Nic warned. "It was this or Jack Daniels, so which would you prefer."

Sadie laughed. "Nic, calm down. It's only 9:30. We don't have to be at the hall until 5:00 and Portia, Kiley, and Jessica are taking care of any last minute details with Janine. Sophie, Lex, and Isabelle are with Maria, who will get them ready and meet us there. Spied is with Tommy, Kwest, and the boys at Tommy and Jude's, so all you need to do is relax. Don't you remember Jude on her wedding day? She was freaking out and it was all for nothing."

"You're right," Nic breathed, pushing away her mug. "I have nothing to worry about."

"Your hair is going to be done at 1:15, then makeup at 3:30, so for now, we just have time to kill," Jude reported. "Why don't we watch a movie?"

"Nothing sad!" Nic requested. "I don't want to cry yet."

Sadie looked over her and Kwest's movie collection. "We have _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure._ That's Kwest's favorite movie."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jude muttered, joining her sister. "What about _Spice World_? Nic, you love the Spice Girls."

"Okay," Nic agreed, settling onto the couch as Sadie put in the movie.

"I wonder how the boys are doing?" Jude mused as the previews began.

"They're probably all still sleeping," Sadie replied.

Tommy, Kwest, Jamie, Wally, and Kyle watched in amazement as Spiederman paced through Tommy's penthouse, talking to himself.

"Why is she marrying me?" he asked aloud. "Is she crazy?"

"She must be," Tommy mumbled.

Kwest nudged his best friend. "She loves you, Spied. That's why she's marrying you."

"But I'm an idiot!" he exclaimed. "I can't be a good husband, let alone a good father! She's just too good to back away now."

"Do you love her?" Kyle interrupted him.

"Nic? Of course," Spiederman answered, finally calming down. "I do. I love her."

"Then that's enough," Kyle said simply. "Everything else will just fall into place."

Tommy stared at him. "Since when did you get so smart?"

"Nic's my best friend," he reminded them. "Her intelligence had to rub off somewhere."

"It's just too bad Spied didn't get it," Jamie joked.

"So, do you have your tux ready?" Kwest asked.

Spiederman nodded and went to the garment bag he had hanging on the door frame to a closet. He unzipped it and pulled out a pair of dress pants and a tuxedo t-shirt.

"You're not wearing that," Tommy told him.

"It's a surprise for Nic," Spiederman smiled triumphantly. "I think she'll think it's funny."

"You won't when she refuses to marry you," Wally put in. "Nic's become such a Nazi about this wedding; if she even sees that, she'll have you castrated."

"I'm not really that stupid," Spiederman told them, turning the garment bag to reveal his Hugo Boss tux that Nic had picked out. "I _do_ want to get married today."

"Atta boy," Kyle laughed, turning on the TV. "Now, for some pre-wedding fun, I brought over a party favor I know everyone will love."

Spiederman stared at him. "Kyle, I am not watching porn on the day of my wedding."

"No, no, no," Wally jumped in. "It's not porn, trust us."

Before anyone else could say anything, the blue input screen was replaced by a picture of Tommy, or better yet, Little Tommy Q.

"No way in Hell am I watching this," Tommy said quickly.

"Oh, yeah!" Kyle cried. "It's _Boyz Attack: When Boyz Attack_!"

Jamie smirked. "Wow, that title is so original."

"Can it, Andrews," Tommy snapped. "I didn't choose it."

"Sure," Kwest murmured, dodging a punch in the arm. "I'm just saying, you weren't exactly the most creative guy back then, Tom."

"Whatever," Tommy groaned, closing his eyes. "Wake me when it's over.

Nic stood in her preparation room at Mandalay Hall pacing. Her long hair was pulled loosely half-back, softly curled, and topped off with a gorgeous veil. Her makeup was absolutely flawless and by the time she put on her vintage Valentino wedding gown, she'd look like the perfect cover girl for _InStyle Weddings_ magazine. With its empire waist and spaghetti straps, the long silk dress hugged her in all the right places and flared out at her ankles, giving way for a three-foot train. This should've been the happiest day of her life, but here she was, in just her undergarments and Manolo Blahnik shoes, pacing. She was pacing because Tommy had called half an hour ago to say that Spiederman was MIA and no one could find him.

"How are you doing?" Kiley asked, sticking her head in from the bridesmaid's room next door.

"Is that a rhetorical question, Kiley?" Nic demanded angrily. "I hope to God it is because I refuse to answer something so stupid right now! How do you think I'm doing? My fiancé is missing, it's 5:45 and the ceremony is starting in 75 minutes! How would you be feeling?"

"Sorry," Kiley apologized, sitting down on a random chair, careful not to snag the fabric of her strapless orange Vera Wang dress with the white satin bow around her waist. "Stupid question, I know. It's just, I've never been in this kind of situation before, Nic. But, I'm sure they'll find him. Kyle and the boys are out looking for him as we speak."

"That's not good enough!" Nic exclaimed. "I want to know where he is at this very second because I'm going to go crazy if I don't!"

Before Kiley could respond, the door opened again and Jude appeared, wearing the same dress as Kiley, holding out a cell phone. "You have a call."

"Is it Spiederman?" Nic asked hopefully, wiping at her eyes.

Jude frowned. "I meant for Kiley."

"Oh," Nic nodded sadly, sitting down on the couch. "Okay."

Kiley took the phone and walked into the hallway. "Tell me you found him."

"Nope," Kyle answered from his end. "Wally and I have checked everywhere we think he could possibly go while Kwest, Jamie, and Tommy have checked everywhere else and we're coming up with nothing."

"Did he say nothing when he left?" she asked.

Kyle sighed. "Well, he said he wanted to go check things at the Hanover for tonight, cause that's where they're staying, but that was hours ago and we haven't heard from him since. He's not answering his phone or texts or anything."

"Great," she muttered. "I'm worried about Nic, Kyle. And not even just Nic, but also the baby. This kind of stress isn't good for a pregnancy."

"Well, we're trying," Kyle offered. "I mean, he can't have gone far, right? Can you stall if we're not there by 7:00?"

"Well, it'll either be until then or until Nic drives herself wild and ends up with her mom," Kiley replied. "Just do what you can and call me back."

"He's not coming, is he?" Nic whispered to Jude, willing herself not to cry again. "He doesn't want to marry me."

"Of course he does," Jude assured her, taken Nic into her arms. "He loves you, Nic, and you know that. We all know that."

"Then why isn't he here?" Nic sobbed. "It's my fault. I got pregnant and he's not ready to be a dad, but he did the right thing by proposing to me and now, he's regretting it and running away."

Jude shook her head. "Stop it. He left Monica at the altar for you."

"And now he's standing me up, too," Nic pointed out. "I should've known. He just has a little more decency this time to do it before the ceremony instead of humiliating me during it."

"He'll be here," Jude interrupted her. "You know Spiederman. He's probably out doing something for you and lost track of time. In fact, he's probably afraid to come right now because he's scared you'll kill him."

"Oh, I will kill him," Nic promised. "I'll marry him first, and then I'll kill him."

The door opened and Kiley walked in with a dark expression.

"Based on that look, I'm guessing that they haven't found him?" Nic assumed. "Well, fabulous. It would've been a lovely show, everyone."

"They're still looking," Kiley reported. "And they won't stop until they find him."

Before Nic could cry anymore, Nic's cell phone started buzzing in her Narciso Rodriguez tote bag.

"Hello?" she answered quickly. "Spied?"

"How'd you know it was me?" he wondered. "I'm calling from a pay phone."

"Where the hell are you?" she screamed, standing up to pace again. "Tommy called me a half an hour ago to say that you were missing and now there's a search party out, damn it!"

He was momentarily silent. "My cell died. I told all the guys I was going to the Hanover to check on last minute things for tonight and there was an issue that needed to be taken care of in our suite. I didn't mean to worry you."

"If you don't want to marry me, why didn't you just say so?" she asked him, turning her back to Jude and Kiley. "It would've been less heartbreaking than you just running away."

"Not marry you?" he repeated. "Nic, I want to marry you more than anything in the entire world. I'm sorry if I worried you. I never intended for that to happen."

"Are you kidding?" she cried, getting mad again. "Our wedding is in one hour, Spiederman! And when I hear you're missing, I'm not gonna worry, I'm gonna freak out!"

He laughed lightly. "Don't worry. I'm on my way to Tommy's and we'll be there soon. I can't wait to marry you, Nicole."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, shutting her phone and throwing it back into her bag. "All right, somebody better help me into this dress cause I can't reach around and button it myself."

"Yay!" Jude cheered, pulling back the connecting door. "Get in here, girls, we have a wedding to put on!"

With the help of her girls, Nic stood in front of the floor-length mirror in her room, staring at her reflection.

"You look beautiful," Sadie said. "Way better than I did at my wedding."

"Well, I obviously wasn't there, but I saw pictures and you looked amazing, Sade," Nic replied.

Tommy stuck his head in. "Groom's here and accounted for."

"I take it I can't see him?" Nic whined.

"Nope, it's tradition that you not," Tommy shook his head. "Sorry," he added before disappearing again.

"Jerk," Nic grumbled. "So, are you all ready?"

"Absolutely," Jude nodded. "Wedding of the year, here we come."

Nic stood just outside the doors of the hall, her arm wrapped through Tommy's, clinging onto him for dear life.

"I wish Mom could've been here for you," Tommy told her. "If I could go back and she only could've come to one of our weddings, I would've let it be yours."

"Don't say that!" Nic gasped. "You were the golden boy."

"Golden boy?" he repeated. "Bad Tommy over Perfect Nic? Please."

She smirked. "Yeah, I was the good one, wasn't I?"

Jude turned around. "Everyone ready?"

"Let's do it!" Tommy nodded as the doors opened and Jude, along with Sophie and Lex, started down the aisle. Kyle and Jessica went next, followed by Kwest and Sadie, Jamie and Portia, and then Wally and Kiley.

"This is it," Tommy said, clearing his throat and straightening himself out. "Nervous?"

"No," Nic answered firmly. "Anxious and completely ready to be Mrs. Nicole Spiederman, but not nervous." She paused and caught her brother's eye. "Okay, maybe a little."

Before she could say anything more, the pianist began playing Pachelbel's 'Canon in D Major' and they slowly started down the aisle.

"She looks beautiful," Lindsey Spiederman whispered to her husband.

"She does," Jack confirmed. "Our son is a very lucky boy."

Lindsey looked up at Spiederman, who couldn't have kept the smile off his face if someone pointed a gun at his head and forced him to. "And I think he knows it."

"Who here gives this girl away?" the reverend asked.

"I do," Tommy answered, before stepping away to join the guys in line, just behind Wally.

The ceremony was kept short and sweet, but they both wrote their own vowels.

"So, I wrote this all down on a piece of paper last night, so I wouldn't forget anything," Spiederman started. "Ironically, I forgot that piece of paper this morning, so I'm going from memory, meaning nothing I'm about to say has nothing to do with what I wrote. In the movie _Wedding Crashers_, Owen Wilson says 'true love is your soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another' and as lame and cheesy as that is, since he says he did see it on a bumper sticker, I kinda agree. See, I'm not exactly one you'd think of when the word 'marriage' comes to mind. I'm immature and lazy and I procrastinate to no end. It's true, ask Darius. Anyways, when I met you, everything changed. You were smart and gorgeous and so totally out of my league, mostly because your older brother and I don't get along, but that's neither here nor there. All in all, I wanted to be the guy for you without changing who I was. Luckily, you accepted me for me and I will appreciate that forever. So, my promises to you, Nic, are these: I promise to put the seat down on the toilet, and I promise not to nag when you leave your Mountain Dew cans everywhere. I promise to always let you approve of my clothing so I'm committing any crimes of fashion, but most importantly, I promise to be the absolute best husband and father I can be."

Nic hurried to wipe away the tears that had formed in her eyes before she began. "Well, I can't say that I even planned to write my vows down because well, I went to Princeton, so I can just remember them." She paused while people laughed and then went on. "This is the last time I can ever use this excuse, so I'm going to. As a Quincy, I'm not one for commitment. In fact, it's practically programmed in our heads to deny it. But, when the right person comes along, we tend to throw that to the wind and settle down. For you, I want to settle down. In college, I was very unattached and I liked options. It wasn't until I met you that I decided options were bad. Yes, Tommy's right in the sense that you're sorta stupid and totally a 12-year-old, but those are the reasons I love you. All my life, I've been told I'm so sophisticated and mature, so being with you is refreshing for someone like me. And with that, I promise not to whine when you come home late from recording, or when I find Kyle and Wally sleeping in our living room ten years from now. I promise that I won't wash your white clothes with my red clothes to dye everything pink and I really promise that I'm gonna love you forever because, well, you're stuck with me."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the reverend said at the end. "You may kiss your bride."

Spiederman took Nic into his arms and gave her the best kiss he could.

"All right, kids, let's wrap it up," Tommy called up to them. "I'm gonna need a couple of drinks to forget what I just saw."

"We're like, totally married," Nic stated once everyone had gone downstairs to another hall for the reception. "As in, joint bank accounts, shared cell phone plans, and the same mailing address."

"I couldn't be happier," he assured her. "Ready to join everyone at the party?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention turned to the door?" the DJ, who was Darius' nephew, and also Shay's older brother, Trent, said into his microphone. "Please join me in welcoming, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Vincent, but don't ever call him that, Spiederman!"

Nic and Spiederman walked in, hand-in-hand, beaming from ear to ear.

"God, she looks happy, doesn't she?" Jude gushed to Tommy.

"Yeah," he agreed. "She does. And you know, even though I'll probably always think of Vin as a little punk, I'm glad she picked him."

Jude turned to her husband. "Well, color me impressed."

"Oh, my God!" Kirsten Cass squealed when Nic and Spiederman stopped by her Paris friends' table. "You're married!"

"And you're blonde!" Nic replied, hugging her friend tightly. "I love it!"

"I hate it," Danny Cass mumbled. "She looks nothing like me now."

"Why do you think she did it?" Tra laughed, walking around to kiss Nic's cheek. "You look good, kid." He shook Spiederman's hand. "Congrats, man. You got a real good girl here."

Shaun White remained seated, shaking his head sadly. "What happened, Nic? It was supposed to be me. You were supposed to give me a couple of years to experience things and then you were supposed to marry me."

"I'm sorry," Nic apologized, sitting down next to him. "I have no patience, Shaun; you know this. Spied kinda swooped in on his, well, _in_ his Jeep Wrangler and I fell in love."

"I guess I'll get over it," he sighed. "So, are you gonna introduce me to any of your friends?"

She patted his head. "It's nice to know some things will never change."

After a few minutes at every table, the buffet opened and the guests all began eating and mingling.

"Are you officially a Spiederman?" Sadie asked as they were in line to get food. "Or did you hyphenate like Jude?"

"As soon as we get back from London, my license will read 'Spiederman, Nicole E,' as will my credit cards," Nic replied.

Jessica considered it. "It sounds right. And, it'll look good on your books."

"Duh," Nic responded.

"So, when do we dance?" Spiederman asked once they were seated at the wedding party table. "Then you can hear our song."

"After Jude and Wally give their speeches," Nic answered. "And I told them to keep it snappy cause I'm dying to know it."

"Uhh, Jude and I had a coin toss this morning and I lost, so here goes," Wally said, standing up at his seat. "So, unfortunately, I've known Spiederman since kindergarten, when our teacher sent out into the hallway for fighting over who got to be the red Power Ranger during recess. Kyle came along in second grade when he got us both out in dodgeball in one throw, so we figured he must be worth keeping around. Now, he's worthless at sports, but we like him anyways. Knowing Spied all my life, I'm a little shocked he's married, especially to the sister of the one guy he's more scared of than Darius Mills. And the fact that he's still alive for it is a little crazy too, but maybe Tommy's warming up? Either that or he's been drunk the last few years. Anyhow, Nic is the perfect match for him because she's not afraid to tell him he's being a complete idiot when he's being a complete idiot. And what's more is that, she loves him regardless of how out of control he gets. To me, that's above and beyond what I ever expected from her, but she's become a really good friend and I think she'll definitely be around forever. Okay, now I hear her clearing her throat behind me for me to wrap it up, so I'll just end with a toast." He raised his champagne glass. "To Spied and Nic, may you stay together as long as Darius is bald."

"I'll drink to that!" Jude laughed, standing up for her turn. "I'm going against the toast code, but seeing as I heard alcohol is apparently bad for babies, I'll be using water. What Wally failed to mention was that when he and Spiederman had their little wrestling match at recess in kindergarten, I was their victim. It was the reason I hated them, and then Kyle when he came along, for about ten years after that. I didn't become friends with them really until I won that little contest when I was 15 and needed a backup band, so I hired The Spiederman Mind Explosion. Three years later, Spiederman had become the best friend I could ask for." She smiled down at Nic. "That, though, was before this girl here came along. At first, I thought I'd only have to like her cause she's my husband's sister, but even if Tommy I got divorced, which will _never_ happen, I'd still love Nic. Now, loving both Spied and Nic, I immediately wanted to put them together. Of course, being the attention whore that he is, Tommy went and got hit by a car, so I was preoccupied with him in the hospital. He woke up, though, and said Spiederman and Nic were already making strides themselves. Three more years later, here we are. Now, I know Nic wants to know what her wedding song is, so I'll finish up. To Nic and Spied, I hope you're together forever, but just in case, Spied, our pull-out couch is always an option."

"I don't think so!" Tommy laughed, standing up.

"What's he doing?" Nic demanded. "I didn't authorize him to speak."

Tommy eyed her. "Even though I wasn't given permission to speak here, I'm the older brother and I'm going to. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected my sister- who graduated from Princeton Summa Cum Laude and worked at the most prestigious literary magazine in the world- would ever decide to marry Spiederman- who owns every season of _Scooby-Doo _and believes that one day, he'll really touch his tongue to his elbow- but somehow, and behind my back, they managed it. And begrudgingly, I have to accept it now because, well, Nic is going on 24-years-old and I can't tell her what to do anymore."

"Oh, God, he's going to cry," Spiederman whispered to Wally. "This really _is_ the best day of my life."

"Just so I don't die in my sleep tonight because I'm still talking, I'll hurry. Spiederman, if you ever do anything to hurt her, or my niece or nephew, I'll kill you. And since we're not in a church, I can say that. And Nic, if you ever run away to Paris again, well, I won't blame you. So, to Nic and Spiederman, may you be just as happy as Jude and I." He raised his glass and drank.

"Okay, thanks, those were lovely, but can we just dance?" Nic whined.

Trent put the spotlight on the center of the dance floor. "If you'll turn your attention to the center of the floor, the Spiedermans would like to share their first dance."

Spiederman took his wife's hand and led her to the floor and took her in his arms, just as Jack Johnson's 'Better Together' played through the speakers.

"Spied," she whispered. "How'd you know? Did you talk to Jude and Jessica?"

"No," he shook his head. "Why?"

"I was just telling them last week that this would be a perfect song," she explained.

He laughed. "Please. I totally know you, Nic. I've had this song picked for weeks; you can even ask Portia."

"Well, I love it," she assured him, leaning on his shoulder.

"So, are you positive you're okay with going to London for the honeymoon?" he wondered.

She looked at him. "Definitely. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, most people go to beaches on their honeymoons, like St. Barts and Turks and Caicos, but we're not and I don't want you to feel like you'll be missing out, you know?"

"Spied, I'm pregnant, so I don't really want to sit around on a beach in a bikini, and besides, I've been to every worthwhile beach on the planet. And I've seen most of Europe- Paris, Monaco, Spain, Italy- but never London, and I'm so excited to go there. We can shop at Herrods, and walk Abbey Lane, and see a real polo match. Maybe even meet the royal family."

He smirked. "Don't get your hopes up."

"It was worth a shot," she shrugged. "Prince Harry is totally hot."

"Hello, husband standing right here," he scoffed.

"Sorry," she apologized.

They dance in silence for the rest of the song, just taking it all in, and Tommy cut in at the end, just as Luther Vandross' 'Dance With My Father' came through.

"I'm happy," she sighed. "I'm just so completely happy."

"I'm happy for you," he told her. "You deserve to be happy, Nic. It's all me, Mom, and Dad ever wanted for you."

She smiled. "Well, Dad wanted me to marry a CEO, and that obviously didn't come true, but I am happy."

"I know," he nodded. "I can tell. Disgustingly enough, your eyes sort of light up when he's around, whether you're getting along or fighting. And what's more is that it's there for him, too."

Nic reached up and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Tommy."

"I love you too, baby sister," he said back.

When the song ended, Jude pulled Spiederman to the siblings. "Okay," she began, "I was just approached by the people at _People_ and they're making an offer we almost can't refuse for first photo rights of the babies."

"Jude," Nic interrupted. "It's only June and I'm not due until December. Yours isn't here until January. Why are they already planning it?"

"$2.5 million a piece," Jude cut in. "You would just have to wait until I deliver."

Spiederman eyed his wife. "We'll think about it. I'm not sure I really want my kid plastered all over the cover of a magazine before he or she can even sleep through the night."

"Fair enough," Jude consented. "I'll go tell them."

Later, as Nic and Spiederman were standing on the side of the dance floor watching Sophie and Lex dance around Liam to drive him crazy, Nic noticed someone across the room. "You invited Monica?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "Is that okay? It's just that, I thought maybe we could all be friends cause we've been through so much together. Are you mad?"

"No," she shrugged. "Friends is probably good."

Slightly unsure, Nic approached Monica at her table, where she'd been seated with friends of Spiederman from high school, she was a little afraid of a confrontation, even though she wasn't really expecting it. Monica stood waiting, wearing a simple black dress over her baby bump.

"You look really lovely," Monica complimented her. "The wedding was beautiful. Definitely different than ours was, or would've been."

"How so?" Nic wondered.

Monica chuckled. "Well, just a moment ago, I was approached by a guy who asked if I wanted to dance with him and I had no idea who he was. Then, a group of younger girls gave me these hideous looks and hurried to ask him for an autograph."

"You're kidding," Nic smirked.

"No," Monica denied. "Who is he?"

Nic sighed. "Long, shaggy red hair?"

"That's him," Monica confirmed.

"Shaun White," Nic reported. "Do you remember Tra Malcolm, the guy I said was my fiancé back when you were with Spied?" Monica nodded and Nic continued. "He's Tra's best friend from Paris and he's a pro snowboarder. He won gold at the last winter Olympics."

"If he's so famous, what does he want with a fat, pregnant woman?" Monica wanted to know. "I mean, he could have any pick of girl."

"Yeah, but the ones who don't seem like your type are the ones who surprise you," Nic smiled, eyeing her husband, who was now dancing with Sophie. "Just dance with him."

"I don't know," Monica said reluctantly.

"Your parents would hate him," Nic told her.

Monica surveyed the room. "Maybe I'll find him later?"

After a few more minutes with Monica, Nic was approached by Jack to dance with him while Spiederman danced with his mom.

"So, when you two first started dating three years ago, I knew then you two would get married," Jack explained. "And I had planned on giving you a little speech about how marriage isn't always perfect and you're bound to go through a lot, but after everything you've been through in the last few years, marriage will be easy sailing for you two."

"I hope so," Nic admitted. "I don't think I can handle anything worse than the Monica ordeal."

Jack grinned and twirled her around. "He really does love you, Nic. And I know you really do love him."

"I'm sorry Zac couldn't be here," she apologized. "It's just that, I wanted this day to be perfect for him too, and he really didn't want him to come."

"I understand," Jack assured her. "They've never really gotten along too well. Zac always wanted to be the big brother, but Spied would have nothing of it. And because I met Lindsey and left Zac's mom, his feelings for my wife aren't always so friendly, even though Lindsey does try."

"Well, maybe when Spied grows up, he'll realize that regardless of how Zac reacts towards him and Lindsey, he's still his brother and blood's thicker than water?" Nic said. "I mean, it'll probably just take time."

"You're right," Jack agreed.

"She really loves you, you know?" Jude asked Spiederman later when they were dancing.

"I know," he replied. "I mean, she married me."

Jude shook her head. "No, I mean, she let you go. When Monica was pregnant, she totally went all cliché and let you go cause she knew if it was meant to be, you'd come back somehow."

"Nic doesn't believe in clichés or any of that crap," he pointed out. "She stands firmly against it."

"Sometimes I wonder how you made it through high school," Jude muttered. "Spied, quit being a moron. When she came back, just after she'd left for Montana, do you think it was really for some of her stuff?"

"How'd you know about that?" he asked. "She said I was the only person to ever know."

"Please," she scoffed. "Come on, man. She and I tell each other everything. Anyways, she came back because she knew that you'd be at the apartment."

He stared at her. "I'm not following."

"Seriously, you graduated with honors and I didn't? What's education coming to these days?" she whined. "When she asked you to stay with her that night and you did, she knew that eventually, you'd be together in the end because if you were truly going to be with Monica, whether it was platonic or not, you would've gone to the loft that night."

"Really?" he asked. "Huh. Maybe you learn more than Socrates and advanced calculus at Princeton then."

"So, Janine just said it's time for you to throw your bouquet and do the garter," Portia informed Nic as they stood near the wedding party table.

"Who should I aim for?" Nic mused, scanning the crowd.

"Jessica?" Portia suggested. "I mean, she and Wally have been together for six years, living together for two and still nothing?"

Nic laughed. "He wants to marry her and she wants to marry him, but she doesn't feel like she can be a good wife until she's done with med school and has a stable schedule, so for now, they take what they've got and they seem to be happy with it." She gave her ex-sister-in-law a sideways glance. "Why not you?"

"Oh, definitely not!" Portia cried. "I'm going to focus on my career for a while now. Besides, one marriage before the age of 30 is enough for me."

"Yeah, yeah," Nic smirked, walking up to Trent's makeshift stage. "So, if could have everyone's attention please, I'd now like to take the time to toss my bouquet to the lucky girl who wants a chance to possibly dance with Mr. Kyle Bateman because that boy will fight to the death to get my garter."

Kyle stood up in his chair. "That's right! It's mine!"

"Weirdo," Nic rolled her eyes, picking up the fake bouquet she'd got to throw out. "Ready?" The girls on the floor said they were and she turned around. "1…2….3!" she threw it over her head and couldn't help but laugh when she saw that Portia actually caught it.

"I'll kill you," Portia mumbled.

Spiederman carried a chair to the center of the floor. "Just so you know, I'm taking this baby off with my teeth."

"I'm not surprised," Nic responded, sitting down.

True to his word, just as Trent began to play the racy music, Spiederman hiked up Nic's dress and removed and her silk and lace garter with his teeth. When he finished, he just winged it over his shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Yes!" Kyle cheered. "It's mine!" He wrestled it away once and for all from Shay and held it above his head.

"Oh, I will definitely kill you," Portia threatened, sulking to the floor for the dance.

"Aww, death threats," Spiederman teased, pulling Nic into his arms. "So, what all did my dad say to you?"

"We just talked," Nic answered. "And I apologized for Zac not being here."

"Nic," he groaned. "No. Do not feel bad for that guy not being here. He knows absolutely nothing about me or my life so why should I include him in it?"

"Cause you're nice?" she guessed. "Or the bigger person?" She eyed him. "Well, not really the bigger person, but umm, whatever. One day, you'll appreciate having a brother, dear."

"Doubt it," he sighed. "The only think I'll ever appreciate having is you and our baby." He paused. "And the band, and Jude, and I guess my parents. Okay, so I'll never appreciate Zac and that's that."

Nic leaned her head on his shoulder. "All right, I won't push."

Finally, around 2:00, the only people still around was the wedding party, all sort of lounging around on the dance floor, disregarding ruining their clothes.

"So, who's next?" Jude wondered. "Jess and Wally?"

"Not for another year and a half," Jessica reported. "But it'll happen someday."

"I'm thinking Kiley and Kyle?" Nic joked.

"And I'm thinking you're crazy," Kiley smiled tersely from her seat in Kyle's lap.

Nic raised an eyebrow. "All I'm saying is that it's relatively odd that you guys went from hating each other to spending every waking moment together for the last three weeks."

"And if there's a girl who can keep Kyle from his regular nightly routine, she must be special," Spiederman added. "He hasn't gone on more than two dates with one girl since our junior year of high school."

"And that was because we paid him," Wally put in.

"Emily Sanders!" Jude cried. "God, you guys were so mean to her."

"Dude, we were mean to her because she was the person who started spreading the rumor that you were sleeping with all three of us and Andrews."

Jude's face reddened. "Now that I think about it, you weren't nearly mean enough."

"Okay, well, our girls left hours ago with Maria, but I'm thinking I want to pick them up, so we're gonna head out," Tommy announced, standing up and holding out a hand for Jude.

"I have to agree," Spiederman nodded, standing up, as well. "We have a suite at the Hanover waiting for us and we head off to London in the morning."

"Remember to swing by G before you go," Jude reminded them before disappearing into the night with her husband.

Spiederman opened the door of the Lexus for Nic. "So, Mrs. Spiederman, if you had to do it all over again- leaving for Paris, the Tra/Monica fiasco, going to Montana- would you, all to get back here?"

Nic looked at him and smirked. "Duh."


	31. Epilogue

**I'd like to say I'm crying right now, as this story has come to an end, but I like how it went out and I'm excited to focus on **_SWIDSC?_** now. And I'd like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed all the time, especially those who always kept reading, even when I was a little spacy on undates. You know who you are. As always, I hope you continue to follow and that everyone enjoys **_Since When Is Divorce So Cool?_

**Disclaimer: As always, I don't own it, so don't sue me.**

_Six Months Later..._

"This is ridiculous!" Nic whined to Jude as they stood off to the side of G-Major's lobby, where a large stage had been set up. She placed a hand on her nine-months-pregnant belly. "I could go into labor at any second and he's putting on this stupid show."

Jude laughed. "Well, MTV was nice enough to come here instead of making him leave you right now."

"If he'd have left, the divorce papers would be in the mail," Nic told her. "I'm so moody right now, Prozac washed down with a straight shot of Stoli couldn't cheer me up."

"Shh, they're starting!" Tommy warned.

Susie, one of the VJ's from _TRL_ stood at the microphone. In her ear, there was live feed to the New York studio. "Hey, Damian," she said into the camera. "So, due to the very far along pregnancy of Spiederman's wife Nic, I'm up here in Toronto where the boys of The Spiederman Mind Explosion are gonna perform their latest hit single, 'Life in the Fishbowl,' from their new album, _Rock and a Little Bit of Roll._ So, here they are- SME!"

"You know, Spied's talented," Tommy mused as the front man began to sing. "He'd be a great solo act."

Nic gasped. "He would kill you for even thinking that. Darius came to him about that in August and he declined. You just can't break up those three. Trust me, I've tried kicking them out of the penthouse at 3 AM many times and have failed miserably. They're their own little family."

"Good point," Jude agreed. "I'd be so lost without them."

"Uhh, Jude?" Nic whispered suddenly. "I know I didn't just pee my pants, so there's only one other option."

Jude looked down. "Your water totally just broke!" She looked at the stage and started waving her arms. "I know you're live and all, but uhh, you're about to be a dad!"

Spiederman, in the middle of his big guitar solo, stopped. "What?"

"Come on!" Tommy yelled. "Would someone get a hold of her doctor, please?! And we need an ambulance!"

"On it!" Kyle and Wally yelled simultaneously.

"Uhh, sorry, guys," Susie apologized, stepping back in front of the camera. "Seems as though Nic was farther along than anyone knew or thought, so back to you, Damian."

"I'm so sorry I ruined your performance, Spied," Nic mumbled. "And for threatening to divorce you."

"Hey," he smiled, holding her hand. "Nic, this is the best thing that could be happening right now." He paused. "Wait, what do you mean 'divorce me?'"

Jude knelt down, though it wasn't easy, as she herself was more than eight months along. "Oh, she just said that if you'd have gone to New York for this instead, she'd have left you. Don't worry about it, she was just being pregnant and pissy."

Before long, the ambulance arrived and Spiederman rode with his wife to the hospital, followed in separate cars by Jude, Tommy, Wally, Kyle, Sadie, Kwest, Darius, and Portia.

"Big group," Dr. Henderson, Nic's ob/gyn, noticed when they all amassed in the birthing unit's waiting room at Toronto Hope Hospital. "Well, I hate to break it to you guys, but it's going to be a while; it usually is with twins."

"Great," Wally muttered. "Oh, well. I'm going to be a Godfather."

Kyle pulled out his cell phone. "I'm gonna call Kiley."

"Right," Tommy smirked. "Like you didn't already talk to her about 50 times today, just to say hi."

Instead of answering, Kyle flipped him off and walked outside to the little balcony.

"How are you feeling?" Jude asked later that day as she sat in Nic's room. Spiederman had gone to play cards with the boys, Sadie was going to explain everything to Maria and the girls, and Portia had gone on a food run for everyone.

"Like I'd rather cut off all my limbs," Nic answered sarcastically. "You might think Lex was painful, but instead of trying to get one watermelon through barb wire, I'm gonna have to push out two."

"Touché," Jude grinned. "It's nice to see labor hasn't taken away your sense of humor."

Nic rolled her eyes. "Yes, how nice."

"I promise, as soon as you're holding those two little babies in your arms, it will all have been worth it," Jude assured her.

"Why did I have to be the one having twins?" Nic asked. "I never wanted one kid, let alone two. This should've been you, or Sadie, or even Patsy for all I care."

"It's gonna be fine," Jude said, taking her sister-in-law's left hand. "And let me believe that, cause I'm about to through this all over again here soon, too."

Nic yawned. "How long till Portia gets back with that food? I'm starving, but if she doesn't hurry, I'll fall asleep."

"She should be here soon," Jude replied, looking up at the clock. "She's been gone half an hour and Wendy's is just down the street."

The door opened and Tommy popped his head in. "How you doing?"

"Will people stop asking that question?" Nic demanded. "I'm clearly not fine! I'm about to force two human beings through my girly parts, Squinty! How would you be feeling?"

Tommy shut the door so people in the hallway wouldn't hear her yelling. "Probably not so good, since I don't have those girly parts."

"No joking!" she screamed. "Where is my husband?"

"Winning himself $75 at Texas Hold 'Em," Tommy explained. "He should be in here in a few minutes."

"This is the least amount of fun I've ever had," Nic noted, turning on the TV. "I should've had a surrogate."

"Shut up!" Jude laughed. "You enjoyed being pregnant and you know it. Think about it, if you'd have had a surrogate, you would've had to help everyone move you from the apartment to the penthouse. Or, Spied could still be on tour."

Nic sighed. "You all will leave again in like, a month, so he might as well."

"They'll only be gone until March," Tommy reminded her. "And I'm here."

"I know, but I still wish he'd be here," Nic admitted. "It's not that I'm mad he's gonna tour, cause I know it's part of the job and he loves it and whatever, but he's gonna miss out on their first couple of months."

Jude eyed her husband and could tell it was really bothering Nic that Spiederman was going to leave her. "It's going to be all right, Nic. He's just a phone call, or even a plane ride, away."

"I'll call you a hundred times a day," Spiederman added, stepping into the room. "At least."

Tommy held out a hand to his wife. "Let's go make sure Wally and Kyle don't get into any trouble." They left, leaving just the Spiedermans.

"I don't mean to cry about this," Nic whispered, wiping her eyes. "It's just, well, you were only gone for less than a month this first time and I was going crazy without you, so I can't even begin to imagine what it's going to be like without you for three months, and with two babies."

He sat down on the edge of her bed and held her hand. "I understand. Trust me, I wish the tour was already over."

"Liar," she smiled half-heartedly. "I know you want to be here with Johnny and Coley, but you love touring; it's your favorite part of the job. If it weren't for me and these kids, you wish you could tour all year long."

Spiederman shrugged. "If we weren't having kids, you could come with us and write on the road."

"Oh, speaking of," she interrupted quickly. "My editor, Sam, called me this morning after you'd already left for G-Major and told me the publishers at Simon & Schuster loved my book. I should know within the next couple of days about when it's going to be released."

"That's great!" he told her. "You wrote it pretty fast."

"And I love that everyone still thinks it's about the musician who gets duped by the reporter," she nodded. "At least now I know they'll all buy it."

"Well, they would've bought it anyways," he started, "but it's a surprise for them now."

When Nic started writing her book, she decided that the best way to write what she knew what to actually _write what she knew_, so she created a story about her life. Well, it was more a story of a girl whose older brother used to be a famous musician and turned into a producer for a contest winner with a killer back-up band. The girl falls in love with the guitarist and the rest fell into place. There wasn't too much thinking involved, other than creating new names and such, and Nic had loved writing it. Her next plan was to take the contest winner and her band and tell their story, starting from the beginning.

"Knock, knock," Portia interrupted, walking in with a bag from Wendy's. "You guys want your food?"

Nic stared at her. "Duh."

"I should've have known," Portia chuckled, setting it on the tray table over Nic's bed.

"Yes, you should have," Nic confirmed. "But, because I'm on drugs right now, I'll forgive you."

"Jude, will you please stop pacing?" Sadie asked as the night began to fall. "It's really irritating."

Jude glared at her sister. "This is taking too long. I miss my kids and my bed and I'm pregnant, so I'm allowed to be cranky."

Suddenly, the sound of water hitting the floor caused everyone to look up. Jude, who was wearing a skirt, paled. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

"If it's not, you wet yourself," Tommy said, hurrying to stand up. "Good thing we're already here."

"If you intend to remain married, do not make any jokes right now," Jude advised as Kyle and Wally helped her sit down.

"We need a doctor in here!" Kwest yelled down to the nurse's station. "We got a rock star in labor!"

"Kwest!" Jude screeched. "Would you please shut up?"

He slinked away from the door. "Sorry, just trying to help."

"You're not," Sadie told him, holding her sister's hand. "Are you in pain?"

"Pain?" Jude repeated. "Oh, no, it's like walking through Strawberry Fields right now, Sade."

"Wow, do Nic and Jude share a brain?" Wally whispered.

Kyle hid a smiled. "Apparently so when they're both having babies."

"Jude, can you hear me?" Dr. Henderson asked when she stepped into the waiting room. "For now, we're going to put you into a room with Nic, all right?"

Jude nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"What's going on?" Nic asked a moment later as Jude was wheeled in and placed on the second bed. "Judy, are you in labor?"

Tommy shook his head slightly. "No stupid questions right now, Nicole."

"No first name usage," she shot back. "Well, you all might as well just hang out in here for a while. Kyle, go ask a nurse for some more chairs."

"Fire hazard," Sadie put in.

"For all of us?" Darius replied. "I don't think so; let me go."

Five minutes later, two young orderlies brought in two stacks of chairs, separated them for people to sit on, and left.

"So, this is gonna be fun," Tommy sighed. "My wife and my little sister, having babies together, in the same room."

"Hooray," Spiederman put in dryly.

"You're both stupid," Jude groaned. "When it comes time for the babies to actually come, we'll be taken to the delivery unit."

"Duh," Nic added.

Tommy made a face. "Well, sorry. I don't believe either one of us has ever had a child."

"No, you get the easy job," Sadie spoke up. "Guys just help make them while the women have to carry them for nine months and then go through multiple hours of labor."

Kwest, Tommy, and Spiederman shared a look. They knew continuing to argue would only result in them sleeping on couches or in guest rooms, so they remained quiet.

"Good, boys," Nic complimented them. "They learn so quickly, don't they?"

Around midnight, everyone had left, leaving just Jude, Tommy, Nic, and Spiederman, sitting around, watching bad TV.

"Four more centimeters," Nic muttered. "I only need to dilate four more centimeters and in three days, I'll be on my strict workout schedule to get my glorified body back."

"You only have a month to do it," Spiederman pointed out. "We leave again at the end of January and you'll have full baby duty."

"A month?" she scoffed. "Please, Spied. It's only gonna take me two weeks."

Tommy nodded. "Once Nic sets a goal, she gets there."

"Two weeks," Jude breathed. "I won't lose this weight until like, May."

"You're going on tour," Nic pointed out. "Won't you lose weight on stage?"

Jude nodded. "Oh, I will. It'll just come back stuck on buses all night with the Three Stooges, pigging out on junk food."

"Don't eat it," Nic rationalized. "Instead of buying chips and cookies and frozen pizzas, eat salads and pretzels. It'll help keep the weight off."

"Ick," Jude shuddered. "That's gross food."

"Jude doesn't do vegetables," Tommy explained. "When you all went to New York before your wedding and I had the girls by myself, I tried to get them to eat broccoli, but because their _mother_ doesn't eat it, neither do they."

Nic shrugged. "It's your body."

"It looks good to me," Tommy said.

"Eww," Spiederman gagged. "Really, let's not go there."

At 4:30, Nic woke up in pain. "Uhh, Spied," she whispered urgently, shaking him awake. "I think they're coming."

"Right now?" he asked hurriedly, racing for the door. "I need a doctor in here!"

A moment later, and after Jude and Tommy had woken up, Dr. Henderson came in.

"Well, I'd say they'll be here within the hour," she concluded. "We're gonna take you away to delivery now. Dad, you can follow Becky down to scrub in."

Spiederman kissed Nic quickly. "I love you and I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Did you call everyone?" Jude asked Tommy a few minutes later when he returned to their room.

"On their way," he confirmed, pacing by the window. "My baby sister is having her own babies right now and I can't be there for it."

"Hey, I'm not stopping you," Jude reminded him.

He smiled. "I can't leave you. In a few hours, this is gonna be us."

"And I love that you, and no one else, knows what I'm having," she smirked triumphantly. "It's my little secret."

"I haven't seen the inside of my office in months since you started buying stuff and locking it so I wouldn't know," he nodded. "It'll be nice to finally see him or her."

Before long, everyone had re-assembled in the waiting room and was patiently waiting for any news on Nic and the twins.

"What's she naming them again?" Wally wondered.

"No one knows," Kyle answered. "We just know there are a boy and a girl coming tonight."

Sadie scoffed. "Well, there will probably two of one cause I'm sure Jude's gonna give birth before noon."

"We might as well stay here until then," Kwest put in.

"Are you excited about being grandparents?" Jamie asked Lindsey and Jack Spiederman, who were quietly waiting near the window.

Lindsey nodded enthusiastically. "Well, Jack already is because Zac has two children, but these will be my first."

"There's Tommy!" Portia said, pointing to the door. "Well, anything?"

"Just came down to tell everyone that Jude's now being taken to delivery, so Sadie, you might want to call your parents, too," he said hurriedly before leaving once more.

Kwest yawned. "It's gonna be a long morning."

At 6:03 AM, on December 21, Johnny Wallace Spiederman was born. At 6:10, David Preston Quincy came. And finally, rounding it out, at 6:14, Coleen Kyla Spiederman was brought into the world.

"It's a boy!" Tommy cried, as he and Spiederman rushed into the waiting room together. "David Preston, after Jude's grandpa, weighing 7 pounds and 6 ounces. He's 21 inches long and looks just like his mother."

Everyone turned expectantly to the other new dad.

"Johnny Wallace came first, at 22 inches, weighing 8 pounds exactly, and then Coleen Kyla, who will go by Coley, weighing 6 pounds and one ounce, stretching to be 19 inches. She's so tiny and she looks like me, but Johnny is definitely his mother's son."

"When can we see them?" Lindsey asked as she and Jack immediately hugged their son. "Soon?"

"Well, Nic's delivery kinda wore her out, so she's sleeping now," he explained, "but they're taking both her and Jude back to the room and the babies should be there after they're checked by Dr. Henderson."

As soon as Maria dropped off Sophie and Lex, everyone was authorized to head to Nic and Jude's suite to meet the new babies.

"Shh," Jude whispered once they were all inside. "She's completely wiped," she said, pointing to Nic, who was sleeping soundly. "Twins is pretty rough."

"Congratulations!" Sadie cried, hugging her sister gently, followed by their parents and everyone else. "God, Jude, he's so precious."

Jude looked down at her son, who was in her arms. "He is, isn't he?"

"Mine are cuter," Nic, who was apparently not sleeping so soundly, spoke up. "One blonde and one brunette, just like their parents."

"I will say that they got their middle names from two very cool people," Wally mused arrogantly. "Especially Johnny, which, by the way, is a very cool name. Reference to Johnny Ramone, I assume?"

Spiederman nodded in confirmation, picking Coley up and handing her to Nic. "Yeah, Nic's idea. Coleen is after my grandma who taught me how to play the guitar when I was a kid."

"Guitar kept you out of trouble," Jack reported. "If it weren't for that, who knows where you'd be right now?"

"Sleeping in your basement, playing video games," Nic joked.

"Ooh, she's still got her bite, even after giving birth," Kyle noted. "I'm so glad she's my best friend."

"Best friend," Nic repeated, picking up the phone and dialing a number.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"I know you weren't planning on coming here until January, but maybe you should come sooner?" Nic replied. "I mean, I did just have twins and all."

Kiley squealed on her end. "Oh, my God, you had them? Like, just now?"

"Within the last 45 minutes," Nic explained. "Johnny Wallace and Coleen Kyla."

"After me?" Kiley guessed. "Or after my good for nothing boyfriend who didn't even call me to tell me you were in labor."

"Uhh, both," Nic compromised. "That way, you can't fight about it later."

"I'll be there by tomorrow," Kiley promised. "See you soon."

Nic hung up the phone and turned to Kyle. "Be prepared to face her wrath because you didn't call her to say I was in labor."

"I thought you called yesterday when we got here?" Wally asked.

Kyle blushed. "Well, I planned to, but then I got distracted by a fight going on down in the parking lot and I forgot."

"Wow," Spiederman breathed. "Was it a good once?"

"Lots of blood," Kyle told him. "And I'm pretty sure I saw a tooth go flying."

"I just had his children and all he's worried about is a fight," Nic muttered. "Ridiculous."

Two days later, the day before Christmas Eve, the women and babies were released and sent home to their neighboring penthouses.

"Do we have to do this photo shoot today?" Spiederman whined. "I mean, we just got home."

"Yes, we do," Nic said. "I know it sucks, but it'll be on the cover of the New Year's issue and that's one of the biggest issues of the year."

They finished dressing the twins, both in fleece onesies and matching hats, and headed to Jude and Tommy's, where _People_ magazine was setting up.

"Aww, they look so cute!" Jude gushed. "And I'm impressed. Johnny's not in baby blue and Coley has no trace of pink, other than her little face."

"Yeah, well, I hate clichés," Nic reminded her. "So, Johnny gets navy and Coley looks good in violet."

"Okay, we're ready!" the shoot director announced. "Tommy and Jude, we'll have you seated with your backs against the couch here, legs intertwined, each holding onto David, while Sophie and Lex are surrounding you. Nic and Spiederman, you'll lounge on the couch above them, each holding a baby, but seated closely so we can focus on all the babies' features."

"This is more complicated than an album cover," Jude whispered, situating herself as she'd been told.

"Everything looks perfect!" the director yelled, moving away from the camera.

Tommy eyed his sister and couldn't help but laugh. "Nic does no less than perfection."

"As I've been saying all along," Nic sighed, "duh."


End file.
